The First Cut Is The Deepest
by Lil Grrl Bleu
Summary: In this sequel to "When You Say Nothing At All", Ed Deline struggles to get on with his life without his beloved Jillian, with the help of Sam. -COMPLETE-
1. Default Chapter

Title: The First Cut Is The Deepest

Author: Mackenzie  
Email: ouiseriland.net  
Genre: "Las Vegas"  
Rating: R  
Spoilers: Everything thus far  
Disclaimers: To get a better understanding of this story, I recommend you reading the first one, "When You Say Nothing At All"  
Props: Cat Stevens, Sheryl Crow and the ones who inspired and encouraged me to write this... you know who you are.

Chapter One

Empty Beds and Discarded Makeup

She used the key he gave her to let herself into his home. The first thing she did was place his mail and newspaper on the small table along the wall in the hallway. Toeing out of her shoes, she gingerly made her way down the caramel colored hardwood floors towards the kitchen to see what he needed at the grocery store.

Ever since Jillian died, Sam took it upon herself to help Ed make it through the day, and now, embarking on the nine month anniversary of her death, she didn't see it getting easier anytime soon. After many hours of screaming until their throats were raw, Samantha Jane finally convinced Ed to give her a key to his house so she can spruce the place up and make sure he has a stocked kitchen. In return, Ed provided testimonies during the adoption that Sam was trying to complete of young Jasmine.

Surprisingly, the two had fallen into a calmness... a comfortable pattern. They took care of each other. If Sam couldn't pick Jasmine up from school because of a client, she knew that all she had to do was call Ed and he'd drop everything and pick her up and bring her back to the Montecito, showering her with fruit, juice boxes, and coloring books in his office while Sam finished up. To compensate him for the time he was lavishing on her new daughter, Samantha repaid Ed with home cooked meals, trips to the grocery store when he needed it and nagging him to see the doctor when she felt that the stress was beginning to creep up on him.

Despite the whispers of fellow employees, Samantha and Ed were not sleeping together. Both man and woman knew that they were no where near being ready for that gigantic step, yet both didn't seem to mind to assume a family position, in a strictly non-sexual way. Being around Jasmine so much, the girl finally felt comfortable enough to call Ed 'daddy'... something that at first didn't set well with his eldest daughter.

Father and daughter fought tooth and nail over that for many a week until finally Ed managed to get Delinda to realize that nobody would ever take her place in his life or heart and that seemed to calm her fears.

As Sam moved around Ed's kitchen with familiarity, she opened the fridge to find an unopened tub of French onion dip. Being riddled with hunger pangs, she grabbed it and opened a drawer to get a knife to cut the plastic band from around the lid. As she pulled the drawer open, a tube of lipstick rolled down. Sighing softly, Sam picked it up and examined it, not recognizing it as a brand that she wore. It was a tube of MAC, Spanish Fly. Tucking it carefully back into the drawer, Sam thought it was a weird place for a tube of lipstick, but then again, everything about Jillian was unique. "She had her own sense of style, my wife." Ed would say as the two would reminisce deep into the night, the head of a sleeping Jasmine resting in one of their laps.

For several months, Samantha kept Jasmine away from Ed. The very last thing he needed was an eight-year-old hanging around him, taking his time up with questions. It wasn't until Samantha was surprised with a surprise birthday party that Ed pulled her aside and told her that he wanted to start spending time with Jasmine, something that shocked her, but also made her very happy. Sam was confident that with men like Ed, Danny, Mike and Luis than Jasmine would have no feelings of abandonment where fathers were concerned.

Carefully running the knife around the rim of the dip, Sam peeled away the protective piece of plastic and then went rummaging through the cabinets to find the bag of Ruffles potato chips she knew she stashed.

"Rummaging through my things now, funny, I thought that ended once the kids got out of the house."

Sam bolted upright and looked into the grinning face of the home's owner. "Funny man. I came by to see if you needed groceries and I was hungry, I didn't get a chance to have lunch today."

Ed chuckled softly as he walked over and glanced at his mail, "Help yourself, hon, you know I'm only yanking your chain."

Samantha grinned as she spotted the bag of chips and dug in, "Jasmine's pestering me to let her join the brownies."

The man looked up from his utility bill, "Join the brownies?"

Scarfing down a chip, Sam elaborated, "It's the first step to the Girl Scouts."

Ed nodded as he set the bills down and walked over and grabbed a few chips out of the bag, "Well, it might be good for her, you know? Teach her how to take care of herself and be an independent person, plus, it'd give you some extra time to get some errands run or something, you've been looking like a person who is stretching herself too thin, Sam, I meant to tell you that."

Sam sighed as she sat down on a barstool, "This coming from a man who isn't home but a few hours a week."

Giving her a small smile, Ed merely shrugged, "Touche."

She gave him a self-satisfied smirk as she continued to snack on the chips. A few moments of silence enveloped them and it was broken by her question, "Anything special you want me to bring you from the store, Ed?"

Ed dropped his copy of "Las Vegas Style" magazine and sighed quietly, contemplating her question. His blue eyes darted over to her in mild annoyance as she drummed her Mirage pink fingernails against the charcoal gray granite countertops. "You mind not drumming your synthetic nails against my counters?"

Sam let out a gasp so loud that it shook the man. "Synthetic nails??"

Ed groaned inwardly as he prepared himself to face the wrath of an insulted woman. Sam stood up and walked right up to her boss. "I'll have you know, Edward Melvin Deline," she paused for effect, rubbing his nose in the fact that his mother still insist on calling him by his full name in front of the other workers when she's angry with him, "That my nails are FAR from synthetic. It has taken me a LIFETIME to condition my nails and get them healthy and I take pride in them by polishing, moisturizing and exfoliating them daily."

Ed blinked, "You exfoliate your nails?"

Sam sighed in annoyance as she tossed her chocolate tresses over her shoulder, "You saying my nails are synthetic is like me saying your car is just a bucket of metal."

The man winced, "Point taken. I apologize for offending your..." he paused for a moment, his hands wildly gesturing, "nails."

Sam turned and grinned at him, "Apology accepted. Now, what do you want from the store?"

Rolling his eyes, Ed made his way towards the refrigerator for a beverage as he thought. Opening the door, he grabbed a bottle of Dasani and twisted off the cap. Sighing deeply, he shrugged, "I don't know. You want to have the gang over and barbecue some night next week?"

Sam gave him a teasing grin, "I didn't know you knew how to man a grill, Ed."

"Hey," he turned and put his hands on his hips in a gesture of mock offense, "If the cavemen could invent fire and the wheel, I can man a grill."

She giggled hard, she knew she couldn't let this just pass, "So you are a caveman? Or shall I call you Tarzan?"

He gave her a grin, "Careful, Jane, or I just may throw you over my shoulder and take you to the tree house."

"Oooh, I'm scared, Mr. Big Bad Caveman President is going to take me to some tree house."

Ed laughed hard as he leaned over and gently smacked her shoulder before pulling her into a tight hug. If anybody had ever said that he and Samantha Jane Marquez would become such good friends he would have laughed them out of his office, but here she stood in his home, in his arms, after getting him to laugh harder than he has laughed since the death of his beloved wife. Smacking a loud kiss on her cheek, he walked away from her, shaking his head, "You, Marquez, are going to drive a man out of his mind should he ever be foolish enough to pop the question to you."

Sam rolled her eyes as she started to clean up her mess, "What makes you think I'll marry anyway?"

Ed turned and looked at her, his face a mask of mild surprise, "You don't want to marry?"

She shrugged as she closed the door to the fridge, "I went down that road once before, Ed. I have a daughter, a great job and a circle of friends whom I love more everyday... what more could a girl ask for?"

"Oh I don't know," he sighed, "Stability, companionship, security, a sense of belonging?"

Sam gave him a soft smile, "I have all of that now." She glanced down at her watch. "Ed, I have to run, I need to pick Jas up from school. Write out a list of what you want and I'll make a trip to the store tomorrow." Walking over to him, she kissed his cheek and grabbed her purse and headed out of the house.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Questions

"Can we go see Daddy tonight?"

Sam sighed softly as she helped her daughter get buckled into the car seat. "Not tonight, Jasmine, he's really tired, he's been working a lot of hours and I think he'd like a chance to just mellow out for a night."

Jasmine wrinkled up her face, "Mellow out?"

"Relax."

Sam got into the driver's side of the car and started the ignition, "Mommy has to run an errand later on, but you can come too, okay? But you have to promise to be a good girl."

Jasmine nodded as she reached for her favorite Barbie doll from the pocket of the chair in front of her, "Okay, Mommy. Mommy, I'm thirsty."

Sighing quietly, Samantha Jane reached for the juice box she threw into her purse before leaving the house. Snatching the straw off the side, she tried to poke it through the tiny, thin piece of foil, only to poke herself in the hand. "Shit!"

She winced as she heard the loud gasp from behind her, "Mommy!"

Sam sighed as she shoved the straw through the foil and handed it back to her daughter, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"That's a whole dollar now, Mommy."

Her mother sighed again and nodded. Ever since Jasmine started to hang around Samantha and Ed, she started to pick up a very bad habit both Tauruses possessed... she began to express herself in ways they expressed themselves, often with the use of four letter words. To try and break the bad habit before it got worse, Ed and Sam bought big jars and every time either of them said a curse word, they had to put money in it. The amount of money they put in depended on which word they used. Needless to say, all three jars-one in Ed's office, one at Sam and Jasmine's apartment and one in Ed's home-all had a substantial amount of money, money whose use was yet to be determined.

"What are we going to do with all that money, Jas?"

The girl giggled from the backseat, "Go to Hawaii!"

Sam winced a little. It was an innocent statement said in a childlike manner, but she knew that if she brought up the subject of going to Hawaii with Ed than it would only pour salt in his fresh wounds. "How about Florida instead?"

Jasmine pouted, "I want someplace tropical, Mommy."

Her mother laughed softly, "Honey, Florida is very tropical, and it's very pretty. Plus," she paused for effect, "Florida has Disney World and Sea World."

The girl's eyes grew wide, "Yeah! Florida!"

Laughing again, Sam turned in the parking lot of an unfamiliar place to Jasmine. "I'll talk to Daddy and see what he says, okay?"

For the longest time it was hard for Sam to refer to Ed as "Daddy" when talking to her daughter, but after a few times of saying it, it became second nature to her. Ed was her father. He may not have provided the biology to create her, but he was her father in everything that mattered.

Unbuckling her seat belt, Sam sighed deeply as she gathered her bearings. "Mommy, what's this?"

Sam looked around the cemetery and sighed again, "Honey, mommy has to do something, she'll be right over there, okay?" Sam pointed to a large oak tree and turned around to look at her daughter, "I'll only be a few minutes, okay? You want to listen to some music?"

Jasmine nodded quietly and Sam turned on the stereo and reached for one of the Disney CDs she bought and popped it in. Soon "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" filtered through the car. Turning to look at her daughter again, she gave her a brave smile, "I won't be long, I promise."

Opening the car door, Sam got out and made her way to the grave site and sat down on the bench and sighed deeply as her eyes bore into the granite stone boldly stating the name, Philip Anthony Marquez. Reaching out, Sam caressed the polish stone and sighed again, speaking softly, "Hey baby."

Sitting in silence for a few minutes, she collected her thoughts and her heart shared them to her gone, but not forgotten, husband. Nobody knew that the name Marquez was her married name, everybody just assumed that that was her given name. Sitting there in silence for a few more minutes, Sam smiled quietly as she stood up, whispering a soft, "I love you" into the breeze.

The sheer silence of the house was overwhelming to him. For the first time since he could remember, there was no other voices in the house, only the sound of the clock ticking. Sighing as he flopped down into his favorite leather recliner, Ed's eyes drifted to a framed picture of his beloved Jillian on the fireplace. Rising, he walked towards it and picked it up and brought it back to his chair, his eyes fixed on it.

Shaking his head, he quietly asked, "Why did I ever agree to this? You could have fought it. I would have went to hell to get you whatever you needed to fight this... you know that." The sound of the doorbell shook the man out of his reverie.

Walking towards the door, Ed paused to carefully place the picture back on the mantle amidst other photographs of friends and family. As he approached the massive door, he let out one more sigh and opened it.

"Hey, Ed."

Ed gave the man a small, but surprised, smile, "Danny, what can I do for you?"

As Ed moved out of the way, Danny walked into the foyer and looked around, softly, "This place is so beautiful."

The older man's head turned as he looked around his spacious home and nodded, smiling softly, "Yeah, I tried not to change it too much. I know it sounds dumb, but sometimes it's like she's still here."

Danny looked at his boss, softly, "After my mom died, my dad wouldn't do anything. He slept on the floor because he knew that if he slept in the bed long enough than he'd have to wash the sheets and the fragrance of my mom would be gone. He didn't even bother taking the Christmas tree down till almost March because the ornaments had her fingerprints on them. It isn't dumb to grieve for your wife, Ed."

Ed gave him a soft smile and patted him on the shoulder. Ever since Jillian's funeral, the two men had grown closer and became close friends. "Come on in, I'll fix you a drink. You want some scotch or a beer?"

Danny watched as his boss headed towards a liquor cart up against the wall, "Scotch is good, thanks."

Ed nodded as he began to fix the two drinks, "So what can I do for you, Danny?"

The younger man reached into his coat pocket and took out a an envelope and hesitated for a moment before handing it to his boss, "Ed, this came for you in the mail today. It was delivered to personnel by mistake and Sandra gave it to me on my way out. I figured I'd give it to you in person instead of giving it to you tomorrow at work."

Ed set the bottle of scotch back down on the glass cart and reached for the envelope. His eyes scanned the return address and he closed his eyes, sighing deeply, speaking softly, "I was gonna surprise Jillian with a trip to Italy for her birthday." Sighing again, he sat down and ripped the envelope open and read the letter. Nodding once, Ed's eyes scanned the paper, his voice was barely audible as he read the letter aloud. Ed folded the envelope back up and stuck it in the back pocket of his jeans. "Thanks, Danny."

Danny watched his boss in quiet concern. Ed lifted the glass of scotch and downed it quickly and poured himself another. Glancing at Danny, he said, "You better hurry up and catch up, Danny."

"Ed," he said softly.

Ed looked at his protege. "You think I plan on getting drunk tonight, Danny? Is that it?" Ed shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I will, I don't know. But I think I've done a pretty good job at keeping things together the past few years, don't you? I mean, I've buried my wife-a woman to whom I shared thirty-five years of my life with, the mother of my only alive child-after watching her battle a humiliating war with her body. I think maybe I'm entitled to a drink as long as I don't drink in front of Delinda and Jasmine, don't you?"

Danny sighed, he knew he couldn't argue. "Yeah. Look, Ed, you want me to crash here tonight or something?"

The older man was about to throw out a prickly response but then he heard the tone of concern in his employee's voice. Throwing a hand out, Ed downed his drink. "No, kid, I'm good. You go home and relax."

Danny nodded, he knew better than to argue with his boss. Nodding, he drank his scotch and was grateful for the insignificant buzz it gave him. Setting the glass down on the table he gave his boss a pat on the shoulder, "You know where to reach me should you need me, Ed. Anytime, man, day or night."

Ed nodded as he sat back down in the recliner and let out a deep sigh.

He knew already this was going to be an unbearable night.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Empty Beds

Ed woke up the following morning with a massive headache and an uneasy feeling in his stomach. He quickly got out of bed and raced to the bathroom, barely making it in time before the contents of his stomach rushed out of his mouth. Sighing, he grabbed the towel from the towel bar and wiped his mouth, knowing that it was from the scotch. He walked back into his bedroom and laid down and without thinking, he reached for the phone and dialed a number.

"Hey," he said softly with a smile.

Sam smiled from her apartment as she held the phone to her ear. She had already been up a few hours getting Jasmine ready for school, "Hey yourself. Sleep okay last night?"

Ed merely grunted in response, which concerned Sam. "Ed, are you okay?"

He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, studying the patterns the popcorn made. "Do you know I have glitter on my ceilings?"

The brunette blinked as she held the phone and looked at it and then placed it back to her ear, "Okay, Ed? I'm going to drop Jasmine off at school and then I'm going to come over, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," he said quietly, "Kiss the rugrat for me, tell her I love her and not to do anything stupid."

Sam laughed quietly, "I will. I'll talk to you in a bit."

She hung up the phone and downed the last swallow of her coffee. "Jasmine, come on! You are going to be late for school."

The girl bounded down the stairs, her massive chocolate curls framing her face. "I'm ready, Mommy." Sam glanced up at her daughter and got a look of horror on her face. Jasmine had gotten into Sam's makeup and, in typical fashion of a little girl, got it everywhere.

"Jasmine, what have you done?" She gasped as she quickly grabbed a wash cloth and put some warm water on it. "You know you aren't supposed to get into mommy's makeup."

The little girl pouted, "I only wanted to look pretty, Mommy, like you do."

Sam couldn't help but smile softly as she kissed the girl's nose. "Honey, you are very pretty, you don't need this stuff."

"That's what Daddy says about you."

Sam blushed for a moment and then finished wiping off the makeup. "Okay, peanut, you ready?"

She nodded as she took Sam's outstretched hand and the two walked out of the apartment. Sam stopped briefly to lock the door. "Can we have Daddy over for dinner tonight?"

Sam smiled, "We'll see, I'll ask him today if he wants to come out. Now come on, we don't want to be late for school."

She got her strapped in and soon was off towards the school.

"Man, I can't think of a better way to spend a beautiful Friday afternoon than golfing at the Desert Pines Golf Course."

Danny grinned as he watched Mike line up his shot, "I was just thinking the same thing. You don't think Ed will have our asses in a sling for ditching work, do you?"

"Pshaw," Mike said as he swung, "It's practically the weekend anyway."

Danny chewed his bottom lip to keep from laughing when he saw that all Mike managed to do was chop some sand away. "Nice shot, Tiger" he remarked with a grin.

His friend just rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Just take the damn shot, Danny."

Danny stepped up with a smirk and was lining his shot up. Just as he was swinging, Mike coughed loudly, startling Danny and forcing him to screw his shot up. Danny sighed in frustration as he glared at Mike. "You did that on purpose!"

"I did not!" Mike feigned innocence. "I had a tickle."

"Tickle my ass!"

Mike's face screwed up, "Why don't you get Mary to do that?"

Danny narrowed his eyes and sighed, "Just knock it off, got it?"

Mike nodded quietly as he stepped up to take his shot. He stuck his finger in his mouth and held it out away from him. Danny just let out a deep sigh, "Mike, what in the hell are you doing?"

"Checking the wind direction."

"What difference does it make?"

"A big one." He said as he turned his body around in a full circle.

Danny just stood there dumbfounded. He was feeling the beginnings of a migraine come on and he really wished that he had just went into work instead of asking Mike to play hooky with him.

Ed was sitting on the bottom step of his staircase when Sam walked in. She couldn't help but laugh at him. He was sitting there with an ice pack duct taped to his shin, holding one to his head and moaning in obvious discomfort.

"Are you going to just sit there laughing at me, or are you going to help me?" he barked at her.

"Ooh, somebody's crabby this morning," she remarked as she closed the front door and walked over and sat next to him. "What happened?"

"I got drunk last night."

Sam stopped abruptly and looked at him, in surprise, "What? Why?"

Ed sighed, "Reason's on the counter in the kitchen."

The woman looked at him a moment before standing up and walking into the kitchen. She saw the envelope on the counter and reached for it and read it. Sighing deeply she let out a quiet, but profane, curse. "And to think you kiss your daughter with that mouth."

Sam spun around on her heel and looked at Ed who was leaning against the door jamb. "Ed, I'm so sorry," she said as she went over to hug him, "Are you okay?"

He nodded as he hugged her back and sighed deeply. "I'm fine, honey. It just really threw me for a loop."

Sam nodded sympathetically and then gestured at his leg, "What happened there?"

Ed couldn't help but grin a little, "Jillian always said I had the grace of an elephant when I was drunk."

She chuckled quietly. "Alright, let's go in the bathroom and get it cleaned up."

As they walked up the staircase, Ed casually reached for her hand, "How was Jasmine this morning?"

"She was good," Sam said with a deep sigh, "She got into my makeup this morning and so I was worried she was going to be late for school, but we got it cleaned up and she was there in time."

He laughed softly and nodded, "Yep. Little girls do that. Jillian had to keep all her empty containers and stuff for Delinda to play with just to get her to keep out of her good stuff."

Sam laughed softly and then Ed stopped at looked at her, "I'm sorry, it must make you feel uncomfortable when I talk about her, doesn't it?"

She smiled, "Ed, she was your wife. You love her very much. It's completely fine that you talk about her. It'll help you."

Ed smiled softly and leaned in and kissed her cheek, "You are a hell of a woman, Samantha Jane."

She blushed a little as they walked into his bedroom. "Where do you keep the first aid kit, Ed?"

"Master bath," he said as he sat down on the bed and watched Sam. It was the first time anybody else had been up in his bedroom since his wife died and, oddly enough, it didn't look or feel weird for him. He knew that wherever she was, Jillian had blessed whatever came out of the relationship.

Sam walked into the master bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. She was struck at how empty it was and then she noticed a second one. Quickly peeking out into the bedroom to see what Ed was doing, she quickly dashed over and opened the second one and found it empty as well.

He had thrown out all her medications.

She smiled softly, knowing what a big step it was for him and she grabbed the first aid kit and walked out into the bedroom. "Okay, pull up your pant leg."

"Getting fresh with me, Marquez?"

Sam rolled her eyes, "You want me to help you or not?"

Ed laughed quietly as he lifted the pant leg of his sweatpants and Sam knelt down on the floor. "Eww, Ed, you have a nasty cut here," she said as she grabbed the bottle of peroxide and carefully dabbed it onto the cut to clean it. Without thinking, Sam leaned in and blew a cool stream of air onto it to take the sting away before bandaging it up. As she stood up, she noticed Ed just watching her with amusement in his eyes. "Sorry," she said quietly, "Jasmine hates peroxide and I guess I just forgot that I was dealing with an adult and not a six year old."

He smiled, waving it off as he stood up, "Don't worry about it, thanks for cleaning it up, but you didn't have to."

Sam shrugged as she began to clean up the mess, "It wasn't a big deal. Listen, how about I go downstairs and you shower and get dressed and we can grab a bite before we head into work."

Ed nodded, "Sounds good."

"Good," she said, handing him back the first aid kit, "I'll let you put this away then."

Sam gave him a smile as she headed out of his bedroom and walked downstairs.

"Mike."

"Quiet."

Danny sighed, "Mike."

Mike turned around and looked at him, "What, Danny?"

Frustration building up, Danny exploded, "Make the damn shot already!"

The two had been standing there for almost twenty minutes while Mike tried to figure out which way the wind was blowing. After giving Danny an elaborate explination about humidity and air, Danny finally gave up in defeat, but his patience was wearing thin. Mike walked up and glanced out towards the green and swung his club hard, hitting the ball. The ball flew through the air and landed some five feet away. "What the hell," he said, confused. "I planned that perfectly, it should have went at least another two hundred feet."

Danny laughed, "You are scary, you know that?"

"Whatever, it's your turn, pretty boy." Mike stepped back as Danny stepped up.

Danny dropped his ball and glanced at the green and then back at his ball. Quickly turning around, he gave his friend a stern look, "No tickles."

Mike held his hands up in innocence as Danny concentrated. Just as Danny was swinging his ball, Mike blurted out, "I think Sam and Ed are sleeping together."

Totally missing the ball, Danny turned and glared at Mike who had a boyish grin on his face, "Oops. Wrong time to mention that?"

"You know what?" Danny began, "You are so dead." He dropped his club on the ground and took off after Mike who bolted a few seconds prior.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Danny chased Mike all through the golf course until finally both men were out of breath and panting for air.

"I ought to kill you," Danny said in between pants.

"I said I was sorry," Mike responded, his breathing equally labored.

Danny rose to his feet and sighed deeply and looked at his friend, "What do you mean you think Ed and Sam are sleeping together. Ed just lost his wife six months ago, no way in hell would he just jump into the sack and screw the first woman who smiled at him. Besides, Sam has the kid to think about and she's got her own place, she wouldn't just bring the squirt to Ed's house for a rendezvous and she wouldn't have Ed come out for a session of mattress dancing."

"Mattress dancing?" Mike asked, an amused smile on his face.

"You know what I mean, Mike. Where'd you get the idea that they are doing the deed?"

Mike shrugged, "I don't know. They are always together and the other night I went into Ed's office to ask him a question and Sam was sleeping on his couch."

Danny sighed, "Yeah? So? I've gone into Ed's office and found you sleeping on his couch before."

"Yeah," Mike began, "But you've never found my head in his lap."

Danny stopped in his tracks, "Hold on... You found Sam sleeping in Ed's office, on Ed's couch with her head in Ed's lap?"

"Yup."

The ex-Marine let out a low whistle, "Whoa. Sam and Ed... That's..."

"Creepy." Mike said.

"No kidding. Listen," Danny said as the two began to walk again, "Until we get absolute 100 verifiable proof, I don't want to go around saying that Ed and Sam are sleeping together. For one, Ed would kill us and it would really hurt and embarrass both Sam and Ed. Plus, I rather like my job and I don't want to put it in jeopardy."

"Fine by me," Mike said as they reached their cars.

"Oh and another thing, Mike?" Danny said as he stopped before his car. "Never again will I play golf with you."

Mike just grinned as he got into his car.

"So, what do you want for Christmas?"

Sam looked up from her latte at Ed. "Me?"

"No, the other beautiful brunette who has mysteriously invaded my life during the past six months," Ed responded dryly.

Picking up a grape, she threw it at him to which he laughed. "Yes, you."

Sam shrugged as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, "I don't know. Peace and harmony, I guess."

Ed chuckled as he sipped his coffee, "That sounds like a tall order."

"Yeah, well, I'm a high strung girl." She responded with a grin. "What about you? What do you want?"

The man shrugged as he reached for a piece of toast. "I don't know. Nothing really."

"Ed, come on. It's Christmas. You have to want something."

"What I want I can't have, Sam." He said simply.

Sam cursed to herself as she mentally kicked herself. "Ed, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have worded it like that. I know what you want. And believe me, if there was anyway in this world I could give it to you, I would. There have been nights when I've begged God to take me and send her back to you."

Ed looked at her thoughtfully. He reached across the table and took her hand and kissed her inner wrist lightly and smiled at her softly, "That's probably the nicest thing anybody's ever said to me, Sam. Thank you. But, I wouldn't want to trade you. Danny, maybe, but not you."

Sam laughed softly, "Hey, now, Danny's been great."

Ed laughed as he nodded in agreement, "He has. I'm only kidding." Sighing deeply he sat back. "What do I want? Well, I guess I want for my daughter to be able to get through these holidays in one piece, I want the same for myself."

Sam nodded in understandment, "So do I. Listen, Ed, Jasmine's got her heart set on having you guys over for Christmas. If you don't want to, I'll totally understand."

Ed couldn't help but smile softly, "How in the world can I resist that?"

She laughed as she shrugged, "I don't know, she's pretty persuasive. She also wants you to come over for dinner tonight."

"Wow," he said quietly.

Sam just looked at him as she ate her fruit. "What?"

"Well, it's just I'm not sure if I can handle that. You know... spending all that time with two gorgeous women. A man may have a hard time controlling himself."

Sam narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm sure you can muster up your strength, Mr. President."

Ed laughed and shook his head, "I guess I'm gonna have to, aren't I? Yes, Sam, I'll come over for dinner and yes, we will spend the holidays together. But listen, I want you and Jasmine to come out to the house for that. I want to try to make this as normal as I can for Delinda."

She nodded, "Understood loud and clear, Ed, and thanks." Just then she heard her pager go off and she sighed as she looked at it. "Crap," she said as she stood up. "I completely forgot I was meeting with a client today."

"Go, I'll cover this," Ed said as he rose to his feet.

Sam smiled gratefully as she went over and kissed his cheek and hugged him, "Thanks. I'll see you later, Ed."

Ed smiled as he watched her go, his heart light and free.

"So you think Delinda knows something's going on with Ed and Sam?"

Danny shrugged as he kept his eyes on the monitors, "Wouldn't doubt it. Delinda is Ed's daughter. She's not exactly an idiot." He paused as Mike gave him a 'whatever' look. "Okay, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she's not a complete idiot. I think Ed said something about her having a genius IQ or something. Besides, how can she not know something's up? Ed's playing daddy to Sam's kid."

"Foster kid," Mike pointed out.

"Whatever. Everybody knows that once the paperwork gets in order Sam's gonna adopt her. At least she'd better. It'd be pretty crappy for her not to."

Mike sat down next to Danny as he zoomed in on a monitor, "Yeah, I agree," he said slowly.

Danny glanced over to see what Mike was doing, "Whatcha got there, Mike?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I want to keep an eye on this woman."

The other man looked closer at the monitor and rolled his eyes, "Mike, she's 112 years old. I hardly pose her as a threat."

"Yeah, but her actions are funny."

Danny rolled his chair over and looked into the monitor with Mike, noting that indeed the elderly woman's actions were a bit suspicious.

"She's a bit old for you two, don't you think?"

Mike and Danny spun around and saw Ed standing behind them. Ed had a small smirk on his face, "Oh, and you two did clock out before your little golf rendezvous, right?"

Walking into his office with a grin, Danny just looked at Mike, his jaw dropped, "How in the hell does he know this stuff?"

Mike just shook his head, equally stunned, "I don't know, dude, they must have tweaked his wiring or something while he was in the CIA and turned him into Scary Ed."

When Ed walked into his office, he was greeted by his daughter who was sitting in a guest chair. "Daddy, we need to talk."

Her father glanced up and smiled at her as he kissed her cheek, en route to his desk. "Honey, I'm a little busy this morning, but what's up?"

"It's about you and Sam."

Ed dropped the folder on his desk and looked at her. "Me and Sam? There is no 'me and Sam', Delinda. She's turned into a good friend. She's really helped me deal with your mother's death. I'm in no way ready for a relationship beyond friendship."

"But you are helping her raise her daughter," Delinda pointed out as she sat down.

"Jasmine needs a father figure in her life and, yes, Sam has asked me for my help. I thought you and I have been through all this already and that you were fine with it all."

Delinda sighed deeply, "Daddy, I'm just worried about you. Mom hasn't been gone a year yet and already you are dating."

"Dating?" Ed responded, his eyes wide. "I'm in no way dating Sam, Delinda."

His daughter rolled her eyes, "Whatever, Daddy, you are always taking her out to breakfast or lunch or dinner or something. She's almost always out at the house. It's just a little creepy."

"Honey," Ed sighed as he walked around the desk and sat on the edge, looking at his daughter, "I love your mother. I will always love your mother. Sam knows this. But, Delinda, you know yourself that before she died, Mom told me that she wanted me to date and fall in love again. Granted, I'm not planning on running down to the all night chapel with Sam anytime soon, but right now, me helping out with her daughter, it gives me something to look forward to. It helps me not always focus on how much I miss your mom, because I do miss her, Delinda. I miss her every second of every minute of every hour of every day. My heart aches for her. I miss the sound of her voice, her laughter, I miss the way she smelled... I even miss her lasagna, and you know how much I hated her lasagna."

Delinda laughed softly as she nodded, wiping a tear, whispering softly, "I'm scared I'm going to forget what her voice sounded like."

Her father nodded, quietly, "I have that fear myself. But we have to keep pushing forward, honey. We have no choice. You know that your mother wouldn't want us to sit around crying all the time. She'd want us to get out there and resume our lives. I promise you, Delinda, that I will not allow myself to get involved with another woman for quite a while, and no matter what happens, we will always keep your mother's spirit alive. We will continue with the traditions that she started, and we will leave her pictures up in the house, because it's important. And if anybody has a problem with that, if anybody feels threatened by that, than that's their problem, not ours. Okay?"

She rose to her feet nodding, tears falling, and hugged her father. "I miss her so much, Dad. Sometimes I'm having a really crummy day and I pick my phone up and I start to dial her cell phone number and it hits me that she's not there to answer. It hurts so bad."

Ed nodded as he held his daughter, whispering softly, "I know it does, baby. It hurts me too, but in time, the pain will ease. I promise."

Delinda nodded as she pulled back and grabbed a Kleenex from Ed's desk and sighed deeply. "What are we going to do for Christmas?"

Her father took in a deep breath, "Well, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that."

She sighed deeply, "Sam wants to come over."

Ed walked back around and sat down, "She said that Jasmine wants to spend Christmas with us."

"Dad," Delinda groaned as she sat back down, "I'm not in the mood for a big Christmas this year."

"I know, honey, I know, but it really means a lot to her. And it'd really mean a lot to me if you came out. I want to have at least one of my girls with me this year."

His daughter looked at him and sighed, nodding, "Alright, alright. I'll be there. But I really want to keep it as low key as possible, Dad, alright? Please? I can't deal with a big to do."

Ed nodded, "I promise. Just a tree, a few lights, some ornaments, a dinner and a few gifts. Nothing extravagant."

Delinda nodded as she stood back up, "Okay. Let me know what I can do. I gotta get back to work." She walked over and hugged him and kissed his cheek, "I love you, Dad."

Ed smiled as he kissed her cheek back, "I know, honey, I love you too. Have a good day, and I'll see you in a bit."

She nodded as she walked out of his office, leaving Ed to his thoughts. Sighing softly, he sat back down at his desk and allowed his eyes to wander to a picture of Jillian. Reaching across his desk, he picked it up and looked at it, speaking softly, "Please help me through this... Help me do right by her, and by you." Caressing the picture gently, he placed it back in it's place and got back to work.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Sam breezed into the Montecito after she had to run back home and pick her Palm Pilot up. She cursed herself as she drove down Las Vegas Boulevard, not knowing how she could be so stupid as to forget an important item that she needs throughout the day. As she got to her office, she noticed that there were a swarm of people around, all of them having very sad faces. Smiling at them all, she said, "Come on, guys, it's nearly the weekend, why the long faces?"

Mary, who had been among the crowd, walked over to her, softly, "Um, Sam, you need to know something, it's about Jasmine."

Sam's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, "What happened? Is she okay? Was she hurt? Where is she?"

Mary placed her hands on the panicking Sam's shoulders, "She's fine, she's at school." She took a deep breath and nodded towards Sam's office, "The Clines are in there."

The brunette blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry, what did you say, Mary?"

"Sam," Mary began again with a heavy sigh, "The Clines are in your office, they've come back for Jasmine."

Samantha Jane froze for a moment. Glancing towards her office, she nodded, "Okay, I'll handle it thanks." That said she began to walk away.

"Do you want me to call Ed?" her concerned friend asked.

Sam shook her head. This wasn't Ed's battle and she knew that. Turning around briefly, she smiled bravely at her friend, "I've got it, Mary, thanks."

Sam put her hand on her doorknob and took a deep breath and walked in. "Mr. and Mrs. Cline, how nice to see you," she lied as she walked in, closing the door behind her.

Douglas Cline rose to his feet and gave his casino host a small smile, "Sam, it's nice to see you as well. Katherine and I realized that we may have forgotten something the last time we were in Vegas and we wanted to come back and get it."

Sam nodded as she walked to her desk, her demeanor was calm, cool and collected. "Mm-hmm, and what might have you forgotten?"

"Sam," Katherine said quietly. "You know what we've done. We are so ashamed. Please, can you just tell us where she is?"

"Why? So you can leave her somewhere else?" Sam spat back venomously. She narrowed her eyes at the couple in anger, "You two ought to be hung for what you did to that child. Jasmine told me that this wasn't the first time either. That you had a habit of just dropping her off places and coming back months later to get her. Well you know what? I've put an end to your little game. I'm taking care of Jasmine myself."

Katherine Cline slumped in her chair in relief, "You mean she's okay? Where is she? We'll take her now and you can go back to your life."

"I don't think you've understood what I was saying, Katherine," Sam began, "So allow me to spell it out for you. You no longer have a daughter. The State of Nevada declared Jasmine as abandoned sixty days after you left her here. I've undergone proceedings to adopt her as my own daughter. I've enrolled her in school, she's got friends, people who adore her and she's getting ready to start girl scouts in a few weeks. You've lost your daughter."

"There's no way in hell a court would grant an adoption to a woman without a husband, especially a loose woman." Doug Cline sneered at her.

Sam bit back a smart remark and merely smiled at him, "Nor is there no way in hell that a court would yank a child out of a stable, loving home and throw her back into an environment where her primary care givers have a habit of just chucking her off when she gets to be a handful."

"Jasmine's got ADD, Sam, she is not an easy child to raise," Mrs. Cline stated.

"Hmm, funny," Sam said, "I've had absolutely no problems with her whatsoever in the six months that I've had her. She's even on the honor roll at her school. She's thriving here, and I would rather gargle glass than allow you to just take that little girl away from me."

"Well, I guess we'll just see you in court then, Sam, because I'd rather die than just hand over my child to you." Doug said.

Sam gave him her most bitchy smile, "Yes, Doug, I guess we will have a date in court. Now, kindly leave now before I call security."

Doug reached for the hand of his wife and soon the two left. Sam sat down in her chair with a heavy sigh and put her fingers to her temples, trying to massage away the impeding migraine.

Mary ignored Sam telling her not to contact Ed. She knew that Sam was starting to wage war and that she needed all the help she could get. Walking into the security area, she spotted Mike and Danny and walked over to them. "Hey guys, is Ed in?"

Danny glanced over and smiled, "Hey yourself. Yeah, he's in his office, what's up?"

Mary sighed as her brow furrowed, "The Clines were in Sam's office this morning."

Mike looked up, "Is Sam okay? What about Jasmine?"

The woman shook her head, "Jasmine's at school, as for Sam, I don't know. She looked pretty shook up when I told her."

Danny nodded, "Yeah, I bet. Go on and get Ed. He'll want to be down there."

Mary nodded and gave them a small smile as she walked towards the office of the President of Operations. Knocking once, she heard him bark an invitation and tentatively she walked in, "Ed?"

Ed glanced up and smiled softly, "Mary, hi, what can I do for you?"

Mary eased herself into the office further, "I think there might be a bit of a problem."

The older man looked at her in concern, "What kind of problem?"

The woman sighed, "Sam came in this morning and the Clines were waiting for her in her office and it really freaked Sam out."

Before Mary could say anymore, Ed had already ran past her and was heading down towards Sam's office.

The first thing she did after the Clines left her office was to put a call in to Jasmine's school. Though the Clines had not outwardly threatened to kidnap the child, Sam still did not trust them as far as she could throw them, particularly Douglas Cline. Once the principal himself had confirmed that Jasmine was fine and was in class, only then did Sam allow herself to relax a little.

Samantha Jane let out a long sigh as she stood up and grabbed some change from a jar she kept on her desk and walked over to the vending machine to get a soda. It was then that she saw Ed Deline barreling down the hall towards her office.

"Where are they?" Ed asked.

Sam blinked in surprise, "Who?"

"The Clines."

Sam sighed as she cursed Mary, "I sent them away." That said she walked over and dropped her change into the machine and got herself a Mt. Dew, the more caffeine the better, she told herself as she popped the tab and took a drink.

"Come with me," Ed said as he lead her back to her office.

"Ed, this isn't necessary," she said with a sigh, though not physically protesting. Other casino hosts had stopped to look in surprise at the President of Day to Day Operations leading a casino host into her office. It wasn't every day that Deline made an appearance in that part of the hotel.

Once the two had reached her office, Ed closed the door and sat Sam down on the couch and sat down next to her, softly, "Tell me what happened, Sam."

The woman sighed as she placed her soda on the end table and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "They just... showed up, Ed. Completely out of the blue. I came in this morning and there were people around, which was a little off, but I didn't think anything of it until Mary pulled me aside and told me that they were in my office. I tried so hard to be calm, cool and collected with them, Ed. They said they wanted Jasmine and asked where they could get her, and I informed them that after sixty days Nevada declared Jasmine as an abandoned child and that she was in my custody and care and I was exploring methods of adoption." She paused to take a deep sigh, "And then Douglas Cline told me that there was no court in it's right mind who would grant custody to a 'loose woman', was how he termed it. Is that how everybody sees me as, Ed? A slut? I mean, granted, I haven't made exactly stellar decisions when it came to the guys I've dated, but I never thought that I had reached slut status."

Ed sighed deeply, he could feel his blood starting to boil in his veins, as he pulled her close to him. "You are not a slut, Samantha Jane. Don't worry, okay? I'll get you a good lawyer and I'll help you fight this, you'll keep Jasmine, I promise you this."

She nodded as she buried her head in his shoulder, "I'm just so scared, Ed. I love that little girl so much. She's the first thing I think about in the morning and the last before I go to sleep. I worry about her all the time, I'm so scared I'm going to screw up with her."

"You won't screw up, honey, I promise. You may make a few mistakes along the way, but guess what, Sam? You are human. I can't even begin to tell you how many mistakes Jillian and I made with Delinda." He gently pulled back and looked at her, softly, "And you'll have me, okay? I'm not going anywhere. I love that little girl as if she were my own daughter. How you managed to do that, I still don't know, but you've managed to get me to fall in love with her. I'll call Lem Hainen as soon as I get to my office and we'll schedule a meeting."

Sam groaned softly, "Lem Hainen, Ed? No offense, but he's like three hundred years old."

Ed gave her a feigned wounded look, "He's only five years older than I am, Sam, so does that make me two hundred and ninety-five?"

Sam chewed her bottom lip, "Um, no. But, still, Ed, Lem is great for corporate law, but I want a family lawyer, someone who can chew the Clines up and spit them out."

"Sam," he said softly, "Lem was our family's attorney since Jillian and I got married. Trust me, he knows family law like it's the back of his hand. When I got out of the CIA and I was being accused of murder left and right, Lem got me out of it. Granted, I didn't kill anybody who wasn't threatening my life, but he still got me out of it. Trust me, you want Lem for this."

Sam nodded and sighed quietly, "I just don't want to lose her, Ed."

"You won't, I promise." He said, sealing his promise with a soft kiss to her cheek. "I will die before I will allow that little girl to go back to those pathetic excuses for parents."

She nodded again, feeling a little better. Smiling softly at him, she said, "I can't afford to pay for an attorney right now, Ed, but I swear to god, I will pay you back every dime."

Ed shrugged it off, "Don't worry, Sam. I'm doing this for partly selfish reasons anyway."

"Selfish reasons? Like what?"

He couldn't help but grin at her, "I like knowing that if I get hurt, you'll blow air on my wound after applying the peroxide."

Sam rolled her eyes and picked a pillow up and threw it at his head. "You are incorrigible, do you know that?"

Ed just laughed as he brought his hands up, shielding himself from the oncoming pillow.


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Ed had taken Sam out to lunch and afterwards, he ordered her to take the rest of the day off. Much to her protesting, Ed had won out. "I'm driving you to my place," he said while they finished up at Picasso's.

"Ed," she said with a sigh, "There's nothing wrong with my apartment."

"Except that I'm not there to make sure that the Clines don't show up. Besides, I've been promising Jasmine that I'd teach her how to swim."

Sam quietly laughed as she tried to imagine Ed teaching a child how to swim, "Remember, Ed, she's a kid. No deep sea diving, got it?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "I taught Delinda how to swim just fine. Do you swim?"

She nodded as they walked out of the Bellagio and Ed gave the valet his ticket. "Of course I swim, Ed. Swimming is about the only way to cool off sometimes in Vegas."

Her companion chuckled as they waited for the valet to bring his car. "True. There are times when it gets really hot in the summer, sometimes I get home and the first thing I do is just start stripping and jump into the pool."

Sam grinned at him as she hip bumped him, "There's a fun thought."

Ed laughed, "Honey, trust me, the sight of me in the nude would blind you."

She laughed and shook her head as the car came up. Ed tipped the valet and opened the door for her and Sam got in, grinning at him before he closed the door, "Either blind or turn me on."

As soon as the door shut, Sam closed her eyes. "What in the hell am I doing?" she asked herself as Ed got in. He just shook his head at her as he started the car. "I assume Jasmine has a swimsuit?"

"Yep," Sam grinned proudly, "I bought her and I matching baby blue crushed velvet bikinis."

"Crushed velvet?" Ed asked, a brow arched, "How can that get wet and not get ruined?"

The woman shrugged a delicate shoulder, "Don't know, don't care. It just looks really cute on her."

"And you too, I bet," Ed said with a wink that caused Sam to blush.

Ed started up the Aston-Martin and sped out of the parking lot, heading towards Jasmine's school.

Mary walked into Bella Sera and found Mike and Danny having a quick lunch. Without saying a word, she walked up to the bar and sat down next to Danny, grabbing one of his French fries and dipping it into his ketchup and scarfing it down. "So, what's up with Ed and Sam?"

"Don't know, don't wanna know," Mike replied as he took a drink of his beer.

"I think it's all kind of creepy," Mary said as she reached over and took half of Danny's BLT.

"Hey," Danny said, "Order your own lunch."

Mary just blinked at him, "Why do that when you are so eagerly sharing yours?"

Danny rolled his eyes, "Personally, I think that if Ed and Sam were together than Delinda would surely have kittens. I mean, it hasn't even been a year since they buried Jillian."

Mike nodded, "Yeah, and Nessa probably wouldn't be too thrilled with the idea either."

"Nessa wouldn't be too thrilled with what idea?"

The trio turned around and saw the statuesque African American woman standing behind them clad in a crimson silk suit, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Ed and Sam," Danny blurted out.

Nessa nodded as she sat down next to Mike, "Well, I say Sam's a big girl and Ed's a big boy. They are both adults. Jillian wanted Ed to fall in love again and remarry if he chose, I heard her tell him this myself. If Sam happens to be the lady he fancies, than more power to them."

Mary just blinked in surprise, "You heard Jillian tell Ed that she wanted him to fall in love and remarry?"

"I did," Nessa confirmed.

"Wow," Danny said softly. "I think my mom's exact words to my dad were 'if you remarry, I'll come and haunt you till you die'."

The pit boss just shrugged a shoulder, "I've known Ed and Jillian since I was nine. Theirs was the most beautiful love story I had ever witnessed. Jillian knew that Ed would go stark raving mad if he was to spend the rest of his days alone, so she wanted to make sure that he knew she'd always love him and that she gave him his blessing should he ever find someone else again, and she specifically mentioned Sam."

Mike let out a quiet whistle, "Whoa. Mrs. D, she was one classy lady."

"She was confident," Mary said quietly. "I wish I knew her better than I did, but I always had the impression that Ed's family life was one of those off-limits things."

Danny nodded as he finished up what was left of his lunch, "Well, like Nessa said, more power to Sam and Ed if they are indeed a couple."

"I do feel a little bad for Delinda though," Mike said, "I mean, it'd have to be a little weird for her to see someone her age with her dad."

Mary nodded quietly, "Yeah. But hopefully Ed and Sam will have enough respect and courtesy to keep that away from Delinda for a while. At least until she's able to come to terms with what's going on."

The four of them nodded quietly and then Mary rose to her feet. "Well, I gotta jet. I need to make sure the preparations for the Silverstein anniversary party are going okay."

Mike and Danny stood up and tossed their napkins down in their plates, "We'd better get back before Ed sends the hounds out for us," Mike replied.

Nessa looked at her friends, "So you are all ditching me?"

Danny got a boyish grin on his face, "Sorry, Ness, duty calls."

That said the two men walked out of the Bella Sera, leaving Nessa alone with her thoughts.

Delinda walked through her father's house in slow, deliberate steps. She tried in vein to try and feel her mother's presence, but it was futile. The only proof that Jillian Deline lived in the home was her photos on the walls, on mantles, on tables. On instinct, Delinda walked up to her father's bedroom and carefully walked in.

It was still the same. The same linens on the bed, the same curtains, the same decorations throughout the room. She walked over and sat down on her father's side of the bed and couldn't help but smile when she saw her mother's picture on his bedside table. "At least he still wakes up next to her face," she remarked quietly.

Rising to her feet, Delinda walked over to the massive walk-in closet and opened it's mirrored doors. To her astonishment, her mother's clothes were still hung up neatly, as if waiting to be selected to be worn by the owner. The shoes were still neatly lined up in rows, according to color, heel height and occasion. Unusually enough, she noticed her mother's jewelry box carefully laid out on a table. Reaching out for it, she picked it up and walked over to the bed and sat down and opened the lid.

A flood of emotions overcame her as she looked at each piece carefully. Her mother's wedding band, the engagement ring her father gave her, a simple pair of pearl earrings that belonged to Delinda's great-grandmother, a flashy sapphire and diamond cocktail ring given to Jillian by her husband. The woman fingered each piece as if it were a priceless heirloom, capable of falling apart at any given moment. Delinda reached into the bottom and took out a strand of graduated pearls and closed her eyes, remembering the story her mother told her about them, how on their first anniversary, Jillian and Ed had very little money, but Ed was determined to get her the pearls so he worked night and day until he had the money for them.

Without realizing it, tears were flowing freely down Delinda's face as she held the pearls to her. Taking in a deep breath, she set the pearls down and looked through the box again. Nothing out of the ordinary was found... more jewelry, some costume, some expensive pieces... a few old letters written to her from Ed while he was overseas. Delinda resisted the urge to read the letters, but she was dying to know their contents.

She was so immersed in what she was doing, she didn't hear her father enter the room until he spoke in his quiet, gravelly voice, "It's okay... You can read them."

Delinda looked up quickly and stood up, almost knocking the jewelry box to the ground. Quickly she rescued it and placed it safely back on the bed, retrieving a few of it's contents which had spilled out and placed them back inside the sanctuary of the box.

"Daddy, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were home."

Ed smiled a little at his daughter as he walked in, "I just got back."

Delinda nodded, softly, "I'm sorry for just rifling through mom's stuff up here. I guess, I just wanted to look at it."

Her father gave her a warm smile as he sat down on the bed and motioned for her to sit next to him, "Delinda, you have every right in the world to look through this stuff anytime you want. In fact, I was going to ask if you wanted any of your mother's jewelry. A few of the pieces I'd like to keep, like her rings and the pearls, but the rest of it, you are welcome to it."

Delinda looked again into the box and smiled softly as he picked up a pair of diamond hoop earrings she remembered her mother wearing often. "Why wasn't any of this stuff on her when she was buried, Dad?"

Ed took a deep breath and shrugged a little, "Selfish, I guess. I wanted to keep it. I wanted to give you the opportunity to have any of it, if you wanted it. Some of the stuff went with her, she specifically asked that she be buried with her watch and the locket you gave her for her birthday. I asked her about the rings, and she said she wanted me to keep them."

Delinda nodded and picked up the letters again and looked at her father, asking permission with her facial features.

Ed smiled softly and nodded and Delinda unfolded the paper and read a letter, softly, "You were in Japan..."

Her father nodded as he smiled softly in recollection, "It was very beautiful there. I brought your mother back a silk kimono. She was pregnant with you at the time and that damn robe was all she wore for seven months." He laughed quietly, "By the time you were born, the fibers had become so thin that when she put it on one night, the robe literally shredded. She was so disappointed, and I promised to bring her back another one when I went back to Japan, but I was never sent back."

Delinda nodded quietly as she picked up another letter and read it. By the time she was finished reading the letters and questioning her father about the times they were written, they were both near tears. "I had no idea you could write so beautifully, daddy," she said softly.

Ed smiled as he leaned in and kissed her forehead, "It was easy to write to your mother like that. She was the inspiration for those words."

His daughter nodded wordlessly as she picked up the hoop earrings again, "I'd like to have these, Daddy, if I may."

Ed smiled and nodded, "Those were your mother's favorites. I think she was planning on giving them to you. They'd look beautiful on you."

Delinda nodded and hugged him, kissing his cheek, "Thanks, Daddy. I don't know why, but a part of me was really scared that you had put up a lot of her things, or you had sold her clothes or something."

Ed sighed quietly, "I know, honey, but the time will come when we will have to do that. We can't keep your mother's clothes forever."

She nodded, "I know." Pulling back she looked at him, "But at least for another year? Please? If you want the room, I'll take them and hang them up in my closet at home."

Ed chuckled softly, "I'm in no rush for the room, honey, really."

Delinda nodded and then froze when she heard a child's laughter downstairs. Sighing deeply she looked at her father, "They are here?"

Ed nodded quietly, "The Clines paid Sam a visit at work and it shook her up. We were gonna have dinner and go swimming. You are more than welcome to stick around."

She smiled softly and shook her head, "I think I'm going to go home and go to bed early. I'm tired."

Ed watched her as she stood up, standing up as well, his voice was full of concern, "Are you sure, Delinda?"

Delinda nodded as she gave her father a brave smile, "Yeah, I'm sure, Daddy. Enjoy your dinner." She kissed his cheek and grabbed the earrings and held them in her hand, "I'll call you tomorrow. Tell Sam and Jasmine I said hi, I'm sneaking out the back."

That said, Delinda turned and walked out of the room, doing what she said she was going to do, sneak out the back. Ed sighed softly as he straightened up his room, feeling badly for what his daughter was going through, and wondering if it was entirely too soon for him to get on with his life.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Once Delinda had left, Ed began to change into some swimming trunks. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and his eyes were focused on the pair of simple black shorts. "I look ridiculous," he said softly with a sigh. Walking back over to his dresser, he pulled out a charcoal gray t-shirt and slipped it on, hoping to soften the blow a little.

When he got back downstairs, he saw that Sam had already gotten Jasmine changed into her swimming suit and he couldn't help but laugh. "She looks so cute!" he walked over to the little girl gave her a kiss on the forehead and then looked at Sam.

"Where's your suit?"

Sam held up a bag with a grin, "In here."

"Uh-uh," Ed said, shaking his head, "If I gotta wear one, so do you. So go, you know where the bathrooms are."

Samantha Jane groaned as she trudged up the steps towards the bathroom. Whipping around to face him, she shot back, "Fine, but fair warning, I look pasty white."

"Sam," Ed said in exasperation, "Look at me. You don't get much more pastier than me."

She laughed hard as she walked upstairs to change.

"Do you think the custody trial will get nasty?"

Mike just sighed as he shook his head and looked at Danny, "I don't see how it couldn't. I mean, Sam's an unmarried woman and the Clines plan on painting the picture that she's some kind of tramp or something."

Danny let out a quiet sigh, "Yeah, that'll go over real well with Ed."

"Well, rumor has it," Mike began as he looked up from the paperwork that he was working on, "is that Ed's gonna get Sam Lem Hainen."

"Lem Hainen?" Danny asked incredulously, "That man's like older than dirt."

"Ed trusts him, I guess."

Danny let out a quiet sigh as he shook his head, "I think it's a history thing. Lem was good friends with Ed and Jillian and maybe Ed just doesn't want to have complete changes yet."

"Yeah, well, whatever happens," Mike started as he continued to read over his work, "happens, I guess. I mean, I want Sam to get custody of the kid, she's a great girl and I think that Sam can really do a world of good for her, but ultimately this is in the hands of the courts."

Danny nodded quietly with a sigh and got back to work.

Sam inspected herself in the full length mirror in the bathroom. The bikini put off a nice bright contrast to her normally dark olive skin. She turned around to get a view from behind and was grateful that she went with the full brief, she'd have been mortified to have worn a thong around Ed. Adjusting a few things here and there, Sam reached into her bag and grabbed a hairbrush and a matching blue hair tie and brushed her thick long hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face.

She checked herself again in the mirror to make sure that nothing was hanging out and that she wasn't exposing anything to anybody and smiling in satisfaction, she boldly opened the door.

She could hear Ed and Jasmine laughing downstairs and it was obvious that Ed had engaged the little girl in yet another one of his tall tales.

"You are lying!" she heard Jasmine yell between laughs.

"I promise you, I am not." Ed replied, his voice not failing him.

"Chances are, Jasmine, it's good to believe your gut when Ed tells you a story." Sam remarked as she walked down the stairs.

Ed rolled his eyes, "And what would you know of my stories?" He asked, still not looking up at her as he began to put away a few magazines.

"Tons."

The man chuckled softly and stood up and it was then that he got a look of Sam in her swimsuit. He couldn't help but let out a low whistle, "Wow," he said quietly.

Sam felt her cheeks flush with pink as she walked to the landing of the staircase. Deciding to change the subject, she looked at Jasmine, "Are you excited to learn how to swim?"

Jasmine nodded as she took Sam's hand, "Daddy said he can show me how to hold my breath under water."

Sam took in a deep breath and she looked at Ed, "But that's after he teaches you how to swim and you get really good, right?"

Ed laughed quietly as he nodded, "Right." He looked down at Jasmine, "Ready, guppy?" He reached down and picked the little girl up and set her on his shoulders, to which she squealed with delight as the three of them walked outside towards the pool.

Setting her down on the ground, Ed got into the pool and got out a little bit and then gestured for Sam to bring the girl in. Sam picked her daughter up and slowly the two walked into the water. Carefully, Sam set Jasmine down on a step in the pool and stepped down and held her hand out, "It's okay, honey, I promise I won't let you go under."

Jasmine looked at Sam and then at Ed and gripped the bar and slowly took a step down and then quickly stepped back up when she discovered the water went up to just below her chin. "I'm scared."

Ed walked over towards her, "Don't be afraid, I promise, we won't let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?"

Jasmine looked at Ed for a long time before slowly nodding. Ed smiled as he took her hand and gently lead her off the step and walked around with her till she was able to get used to the water. "You ready to kick?"

The girl's eyes sparkled as she nodded and Ed laughed softly, gently bringing her to the side of the pool. Sam swam a little to where they were and stood on the other side of Jasmine as Ed placed her hands on the pool's edge. "Alright," he started, "kick away."

The girl's legs began to kick with a fury and Ed and Sam quickly looked away so they wouldn't get wet. Squeals of laughter quickly filled the backyard accompanied by the sounds of splashing water. Within a few moments after learning how to kick in the water, Jasmine's eyes surveyed the backyard and focused on the large slide. Pointing to it, she asked, "Can I go down the slide?"

Sam chewed her bottom lip nervously, "Honey, I'm not sure, that end of the pool is pretty deep."

Ed looked at the slide and then back at Sam, "I can catch her."

She looked at him, a brow arched, "You can catch her?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Yes, Sam, I can catch her if she wants to go down a few times."

Sam sighed softly, "Alright, but don't let her go under. I mean it, Ed, you'll pay if she goes under."

Ed rolled his eyes again, "I promise she won't go under."

She nodded, still a little unsure, and before she could stop her, Jasmine was out of the pool and running towards the slide. Both Ed and Sam found themselves shouting at the girl, telling her not to run, but to walk carefully. Sam stood in the pool, chewing her finger, as she watched Jasmine slowly climb up the slide and sit down and without even wasting a moment, she pushed herself down and squealed the entire time until she hit the surface of the water.

Keeping his promise, Ed quickly dove over to catch her, letting her go under for only a fraction of a second, but it was a fraction of a second too long for Sam. Swimming over to him, she made sure that Jasmine was firmly seated on the side of the pool before swimming under the water and giving Ed's knee a nudge, causing him to go under.

He came back up, sputtering for air, and looked at Sam in annoyance, "What the hell was that for?"

"You let her go under!" she declared.

Ed narrowed her eyes at her, "For a fraction of a second, but that's okay, Marquez, because all I have to say to you is that payback's gonna be a royal bitch from hell!"

He froze when he heard the gasp from the side of the pool and Sam gave him a self-satisfied smirk as she looked at Jasmine, "What do you say, Jas? How much did that cost him?"

"Five whole dollars!" the girl declared.

"Five dollars?!" Ed exclaimed. "That's just highway robbery!"

"Pay up, Daddy!"

Ed sighed dramatically, "Do I have to do it now? My wallet's inside and I'm all wet. I promise to put five dollars in the jar when I get home."

Jasmine pretended to think it over a second, "Okay, but you gotta put five dollars in each jar."

Sam suppressed the urge to break out in a fit of giggles as Ed just stared incredulously at the child. "Fine." He turned and glared at Sam, "She's a hustler."

Sam laughed, "She got it from me."

Ed nodded, "So I figured."

After another hour of swimming, everybody decided that they had had enough and were all equally hungry. Ed and Sam got Jasmine out and they dried her off and got her changed in new clothes. While Sam was showering in Ed's bathroom, Ed was downstairs busy making dinner. For the moment, Ed felt as though his life were completely normal.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Once Ed had grilled up some chicken breasts, made a rice dish and a vegetable dish, he got everything dished up and got Jasmine set up with her dinner. Still with no Sam in sight since everybody got in, Ed walked upstairs to see if she was okay. He could hear the shower running and slowly he walked towards the bathroom, poking his head in.

He had to admit that he felt a little creepy, but a part of him felt like a curious teenager. Ed slowly walked in and then stopped abruptly when he saw the nude silhouette of Samantha Jane in the shower through the clear glass door. He took in a breath at the sight of her body and quickly ducked out before he was spotted, the last thing he wanted was Sam screaming that he was a pervert and plucking Jasmine up and never allowing him to see her again.

Sam slowly turned the shower off and stepped out, just in time to see Ed's body quickly darting down the hall. Chuckling quietly to herself, she wrapped a towel around her and walked over to her bag and pulled out the pair of shorts and t-shirt that she brought to change into.

Fully dressed, Sam ran a comb through her towel dried hair and walked downstairs, already finding Ed and Jasmine eating. "Sorry I'm late guys, that shower just felt so good."

Ed realized he couldn't look at Sam without getting nervous, so he just merely tried to make a light conversation, "That's fine, honey, dig in, everything's still hot."

Sam grinned as she sat down next to Ed and began to eat, "This is really good, I had no idea that you were such a good cook."

The man blushed a little despite himself, "Jillian made me take a cooking class shortly after we were married. Said she wanted help in the household stuff."

Sam laughed quietly, "Well God bless her then, because this is great." She glanced across the table at Jasmine to make sure that she was doing okay and then back at Ed, "This has been a great night, Ed, thank you."

Ed glanced up and smiled at her, "No need for thanks, I had a lot of fun myself. I called Lem and he's going to come out after dinner. I thought maybe you and Jasmine might want to crash here tonight."

Jasmine's eyes lit up at the possibility of a sleep over and Sam hesitated a little, "Well, we don't have any pajamas or anything."

Ed cocked his head at her, "You know that metal box outside with four wheels? It's called a car. You can use it to get around."

Sam rolled her eyes as she kicked him under the table, "You are such a smart ass."

He laughed as he reached down to rub his shin, "It'll be fun. It'll probably be best anyway because then you don't have to worry about waking Jasmine up to take her home. Tomorrow we can get her dressed, get her fed and I'll take her to school."

She nodded as she quickly thought things over, "Okay. Sure, we'll stay over. But are you sure you have enough room?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Sam, this is a huge house, yes, I promise you that I have the room."

Sam shrugged a delicate shoulder, "Alright, Ed, if you are sure. But be warned that this little spitfire is up at the crack of dawn in the morning, so don't come complaining to me if you are tired tomorrow."

Ed chuckled softly as he finished up his dinner, "Yes, ma'am."

Once dinner had been finished, Sam scooted Jasmine off to the living room to watch a little television as she and Ed cleaned up the mess. Little did they know, Ed's house had been bugged and somebody was hearing every word spoken and seeing every action made.

"Just one big happy family," he said quietly as he watched the monitors in a van a few blocks away.

Lem Hainen was a spry man in his late sixties. With a buzz cut of silver hair and a small mustache, he resembled more of a man who is entering his final years in the military than an attorney. Once he reached the home of Ed Deline, he was already a little grumpy, worried that his client will reveal that there was yet another possibility of a murder charge in his near future.

Ringing the bell, Ed wasted no time to greet his visitor. "Lem, come on in." He greeted warmly.

Hainen walked in and smiled as he shook Ed's hand, "Ed, it's good to see you. How have you and Delinda been?"

Ed nodded as he gave his friend a soft smile, "We are getting by, thanks."

Hainen reached into his inner coat pocket and produced a small box wrapped in hunter green paper accented by a gold bow, "Give this to your daughter, will you? Tell her that Santa dropped it off early at my place."

Ed couldn't help but grin at his friend, "Flirting with my daughter again, Lem? She's old enough to be your daughter."

Hainen gave his friend a reciprocal grin, "Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a dirty old man."

His host laughed as he set the box on a table, "Your words out of your mouth. I'll be sure that Delinda gets it, that was very kind of you."

The attorney shrugged it off as he slipped his coat off, "It isn't much, Ed. Just a small charm bracelet I saw and thought she might like."

Ed nodded as he lead Lem into the living room. The minute the attorney was in the room, he saw Sam sitting on a couch, looking through a manila envelope, her shoes kicked off and her feet tucked up under her. Lem grinned at the sight of the brunette casino host in her black cat eye glasses. "And who do we have here?" he asked.

Sam immediately looked up and closed her file as Ed laughed quietly, "Lem, this is Samantha Jane Marquez. She's a very good friend of mine, she's the one who needs legal representation."

"For the adoption?"

Ed nodded as the two men walked in, "Sam, this is Lem."

Sam rose to her feet and smiled, extending her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hainen, and I appreciate the help."

Lem waved off her formalities as he shook her head, "Please, call me Lem. Any friend of Ed's is a friend of mine."

Sam smiled as she nodded in gratitude and soon the three were seated around a large coffee table, Ed and Sam on the couch with Lem in a recliner. "So, Sam, tell me about what seems to be the problem."

The woman took in a deep breath before she began, "The problem, Lem, is that about a year ago, I had some clients who left Vegas and left their daughter. The girl was six years old and very scared. She didn't trust anybody. I didn't want to see her get lost in the cracks, so I took her in. A friend of mine has a friend in Metro and he pulled some strings and was able to get me a foster care license so that's what I've been doing."

Lem nodded as he wrote everything down, "And have the parents tried to contact you in anyway?"

Sam looked at Ed in surprise, thinking that for sure he had told Lem about the Clines showing up at the Montecito. "Well, yes. They showed up today. They said they wanted Jasmine back and when I told them I wouldn't give her up, they threatened legal action... I thought Ed told you that."

Lem nodded, "He did. I just needed to hear it from you. Legally, they have no claim on the child. It's been well over the sixty day period, she's legally abandoned. Plus, Ed told me that the child said that the parents had a tendency to do that often, so that'll work in our favor. Is the child in school currently?"

Sam sighed quietly, a little annoyed that he kept referring to Jasmine as 'the child'. "Yes, Jasmine is in school. That's her name, Lem, not 'the child'."

Lem took a sideways glance at Ed who was smirking, "She's feisty."

"She also has a temper," Sam said with a sigh.

The attorney chuckled quietly, and in a patronizing way, he leaned across the table and gently patted Sam's hand, "It'll work out."

Sam gave him a glare and then looked at Ed, "I can't do this," she declared as she stood up and walked out of the room.

Ed sighed deeply as he looked at Lem, "Lem, I told you, she's very sensitive when it comes to the kid. She also hates to be patronized."

Lem nodded apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ed, I didn't mean to come across as that."

The other man nodded as he rose to his feet and went in search of Sam. Finding her outside, he observed her for a moment as he watched her sitting on a chaise lounge, looking up at the sky, though there wasn't much to look at thanks to the glitzy lights of the Las Vegas horizon which was in clear view. Ed walked over and sat down on a neighboring chaise and reached for her hand, offering an excuse for his friend, "He's old school. He doesn't mean to act the way he does."

Sam nodded wordlessly, softly, "I know. I'm sorry, Ed, I didn't mean to just walk out like that. I guess I just have a lot on my mind."

Ed nodded sympathetically, "I know you do, Sam. I wish I could do something to ease your burden."

The woman drew her legs up to her chest and looked over at Ed, "I think that maybe it might be a good idea if Jasmine and I left you be for a bit."

Ed sat up quickly and looked at her, "Let me be? Why? I'm fine."

Sam shrugged a shoulder, it was obvious that she was struggling with something, "It's just... You can't possibly want to spend all your free time with us, Ed. I mean, you have Delinda, and you have other friends, and you have..."

Ed cut her off, "A lot of spare time on my hands that will drive me up the wall if I have to spend alone." He paused and looked at her, "Sam, what's brought all this on?"

The brunette raked a hand through her mass of hair before standing up, "Nothing, Ed. I just don't want you to waste your time on us."

Ed grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down in the chair before she got away. Looking at her, he sat on the edge of his chair, speaking softly to her, "Hey, this is me, okay? You are struggling with something, so just please tell me what it is."

Sam looked away from him, she suddenly found it very difficult to look at him. She mumbled something in a tone of voice that was impossible to hear. Leaning in closer, Ed whispered softly, "I didn't hear you, Sam."

Sighing deeply, Sam figured that it was now or never and she may as well just completely give him a shove out of her life. Looking at him, she said quietly, "I said that Jasmine isn't the only one who loves you, Ed. I've tried so hard to fight it, but I can't."

Blinking rapidly in surprise, Ed just looked at her, softly, "Sam, I'm no where near ready for that kind of step."

She nodded, "I know, I know. I didn't say it to freak you out either, Ed. I just think that maybe some time apart might be in order. You can still spend time with Jasmine, but I think that maybe we should limit the time we spend together to work only."

Ed nodded quietly, feeling badly for Sam. He sighed softly, "Well, I still want to help you with your case."

Sam nodded, with a soft laugh, "Yeah, I'm thinking I'm going to need all the help I can get."

He gave her a soft smile as he stood up, "I'll tell Lem that we are done for the night. I'll give him your information and you can contact him, considering you still want to use him for legal representation." Before Sam could respond, Ed had already walked back inside.

After watching Ed's back retreat inside the house, Sam let out a deep sigh of frustration as she ran her hands through her hair. "Smooth move, Marquez," she chastised herself, "tell the man that you are in love with him almost a year after his wife dies. Real brilliant," Sam cursed herself softly as she looked back at the house, wondering how she was going to get through the remainder of the night in one piece.

Ed asked Lem to leave. Telling his attorney and friend that Sam had had a hard day seemed to do the trick. After checking on Jasmine, Ed slowly bounded the steps up to his bedroom and closed the door.

"How can she be in love with me?" he asked himself as he began to undress. Sighing softly, he found that he was torn. While he was still very much in love with his deceased wife, Ed found that during the past few months he had grown a special attachment to Miss Samantha Jane Marquez, and it wasn't just her tag along child either.

Ed did something that he normally didn't do and he ran himself a bath. Normally, he would just wash up or take a shower, but he found that tonight he needed the time to seriously think about the night's events.

Once he was in the steaming tub of water, he glanced over towards the stainless steel basket and saw his wife's bath products. Furrowing his brow, Ed recalled how much his wife would love a good hot bubble bath, and how he would tease her mercilessly when he'd come home and find her up to her chin in a hot bubble bath, scented candles lit, soft music playing as she would sponge herself with a loofah with the special bath gel--always in coordinating fragrances.

Now as he sat there in his bath, he realized why she had grown a fondness of her bath. It relaxed her. He sat up and reached towards the basket and pulled it closer and examined it's contents. Inside the basket were a dozen or so bottles, some near empty, some half full and there were even one or two that hadn't been opened. He sighed quietly as he gently nudged the basket back to its place and thought more about the task at hand.

He knew that his wife had given him her blessing to fall in love again, but he was quite certain that her deathbed kindness didn't mean that he could fall in love while her grave was still fresh, and he was very sure that the revelation that he had fallen in love would not sit kindly with his eldest daughter.

Ed leaned back against the porcelain tub and reached for the wash rag and washed his body, his vivid blue eyes focused on the rich sand colored tiles of the bathroom. His eyes darted around, taking in the warm hues of reds, creams, taupes and accents of gold. After he had been there a significant amount of time, he felt a chill overcome his body and he was jerked back to the present reality--that he was sitting in a tub of cold water.

Reaching down, he pulled the stopper out and stood up and stepped out of the tub, drying his body with a towel and that's when he saw them in the mirror. Walking closer to the vanity, Ed inspected the mars on his body, scars of old wounds. More than once in his life, he had taken a bullet and now he had the proof, raised marks vandalized his shoulder, his chest, his stomach, Ed was aware of the bullet mark on his back and he remembered vividly being in the hospital in Beirut, his wife at his side, tears falling as she begged him to get out of the Agency. That was what did it. Armed with the knowledge that the next time he was shot, he could become paralyzed, or, worse, killed, Ed filed his papers and resigned from the Central Intelligence Agency, much to the dismay--and pleasure--of his superior officers and his subordinates.

"How in the hell could she fall in love with this?" he asked himself quietly as he examined his body, suddenly finding shame in the marks where he once found pride. Shaking his head in disbelief, Ed walked into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt and slipped them on and got into bed.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

By the next morning, Sam had woken up early and had already showered and was dressed by the time Ed got up. Neither had slept much the previous night and when she saw Ed in the morning, Sam found that she couldn't look at him she was so embarrassed.

Quickly, she straightened up the guest room, making up the bed and even cleaning the bathroom after she got Jasmine up and ready to go. Sighing softly, she walked out into the kitchen and stopped abruptly when she found Ed sitting at the counter having his morning cup of coffee while reading the paper. Ed looked at her and his eyes trailed up and down her body slowly, softly, "Already dressed? It's only after seven."

Sam shrugged a delicate shoulder and gave him a soft smile, "I need to get Jasmine to school and run home, throw a load of laundry in and get to work."

Ed chuckled softly as he stood up and grabbed a glass and poured himself some orange juice, "Right, cause I don't have the facilities to do laundry here."

The woman sighed softly as she rubbed her forehead, clearly annoyed at his just brushing things off, "Ed," she started, "I just can't stay here, okay? Not after last night, it's just too embarrassing for me."

Ed looked at her and set the carton of juice back in the fridge and walked over to her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he said to her, simply, in a soft tone, "Samantha Jane, you don't have to be embarrassed for last night. Really." He sighed softly, "Honey, I'm so very flattered that you have the feelings for me that you do, I really am, and if it were any different situation... if Jillian and I had just divorced, or if she had left me, or I her, than given the past year that you and I have had, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I'd have the same feelings that you do. And, yes, I'm well aware that she gave me her blessing to fall in love again, but it's just too soon for me. And I don't know, Sam, maybe, deep down, I have the same feelings that you do, but I am just not ready to voice them."

Sam nodded quietly, unsure of how to respond. Giving him a smile, she kissed his cheek and walked out of the kitchen, collecting her daughter and her things and then walking out of his house.

Ed walked into the surveillance area of the Montecito with a chip on his shoulder. Not bothering to even stop to greet the women at the front desk, it was no secret that this was not a good morning for Deline.

Once he got to the surveillance pit, Mike and Danny stopped to say hi. "Good morning, Mr. D, how's the rugrat?"

Ed just turned to glare at Mike, grunting a response, and then walked back into his office and closed the door behind him. Mike, taken aback, just looked at Danny, "What crawled up his ass and died?"

Danny just shrugged as he watched Ed stalk his office. Once he was caught, Ed flipped the blinds, not wanting to be disturbed.

The ex-Marine just sighed and shook his head as he sat down, "My guess is trouble in paradise."

Mike glanced at him as he was looking at the monitors, "You think him and Sam are having problems?"

Danny shrugged, "I don't know, but frankly, I don't plan on going in and asking Ed how his love life is going."

The bald African-American man shuddered has he envisioned what would happen, "Yeah, neither do I."

That said, both men resumed their work.

Sam dropped Jasmine off at school and tried her hardest to stay out of Ed's way during the day, immersing herself in her work. She plastered on her most radiant of smiles as she walked into the casino and spotted the Rydells from Boston.

"Mr. and Mrs. Rydell, it's so great to have you back here at the Montecito."

Mr. Rydell looked up from the roulette wheel and smiled at his casino host as he wove his way over and pecked her cheek, "Sam, it's great to see you. You are looking gorgeous as always."

Sam felt herself blush as she smiled, "Thank you." Turning her attention to Mrs. Rydell, Sam gave her a smile, "And speaking of gorgeous women, Tamara, look you amazing."

Tamara Rydell just grinned, "Thanks, it's amazing what a week in Bermuda will do."

Sam gave her best fake laugh, "I just bet it is! Well, if either of you need anything, I'm just a phone call away."

"Well, Sam," James Rydell began, "There is one small thing."

"Name it," Sam said with a big smile, this was her forte.

"The sheets on our bed aren't silk, they are satin."

Sam nodded as she grabbed her Palm Pilot, "Say no more, I'm very sorry about that, I'll have housekeeping go up right now and change those sheets." Sam quickly made a note on her PDA indicating that the Rydells preferred silk sheets over satin.

Tamara smiled, "Thanks, Sam, you are a peach."

Sam gave her a thumbs up and walked away, rolling her eyes, muttering under her breath, "A peach?"

Shaking her head, she walked through the casino, checking on her other clients, completely unaware that Ed was watching her on the monitors. By three that afternoon, she had successfully managed to avoid Ed. Nessa and Delinda pounced her at three thirty. "Hey."

Sam glanced up and looked at her two friends through her black cat-eye glasses, "Hey yourselves," she said as she got back to work.

Delinda and Nessa looked at each other as they walked further in her office. Nessa sat down in a chair as Delinda leaned against the wall. Watching her friend carefully, Nessa treaded carefully. In her heavy British accent, she asked, "Have you and Ed broke up?"

Sam nearly choked on her latte, "Broke up?? We weren't even together."

Delinda shrugged a shoulder, "All we know is that yesterday, you and my dad were very friendly and now today, Dad's locked himself in his office and you are hiding out down here in yours, and, to the best of our knowledge, the two of you haven't spoken all day."

"That's not true," Sam defended, "He and I talked this morning." Reacting on what Delinda said, Sam asked, "He's locked himself in his office?"

Nessa nodded, "It's actually a little pathetic. Mike and Danny can't even get him to yell at them, and they've been trying all day. Any other day and Ed would have strung the two of them up by their family jewels, but today Ed has pretty much just let everything go."

Sam sighed deeply, "Well, I can't do anything about that. I'm not the keeper of Ed's moods nor am I the one who decides what mood he'll be in on any given day."

Her friends just blinked as they looked at each other in surprise at the sudden change in attitude. Rising to her feet slowly, Nessa said, "Just go up and see him, Sam."

The brunette looked at Nessa, "Ness, he knows where my office is, he knows my extension. Hell, the man knows where I am every stinking moment of the day thanks to those stupid cameras up there. If he wants to see me, than he can march himself down here and see me himself. I'm sick of catering to every man's whim."

Delinda ducked out of Sam's office unnoticed and made her way up to her father's, intent on ripping him a new one.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Delinda marched into her father's office with an agenda. "Daddy, we need to talk."

Ed, not looking up from his paperwork, let out a quiet sigh. These were not his favorite talks. "Sweetheart, if this is about that pot smoking band of hippies, look, you are a grown adult, if you want to run around with them, that's up to you."

"They are the Polyphonic Spree, dad, and this isn't about that, but thanks for the blessing for the future."

Ed rolled his eyes, "More parking tickets?"

Delinda let out a deep sigh, he wasn't going to make this easy, "Speeding."

"Oh, I see we've graduated up, then," her father remarked dryly.

Without thinking, Delinda's voice adopted a tone, "You know, Daddy, you act like you know what it's like to drive and park in Vegas. Not all of us have our own parking spots five feet from the lobby."

Ed stopped what he was doing and slowly looked up at his daughter, "Did you come in here just to piss me off, or do you have something you want to say?"

His blonde daughter looked at him, her hands on her hips, "Are you aware that you are screwing things up big time with Sam?"

"Screwing things up?" He said with a sigh, "I don't understand you, Delinda. First you were pissed because Sam and I were getting close and when I back off to take a breather, you get pissed at that."

"Dad," Delinda said with a sigh as she sat down in his couch, "I'll get pissed no matter who you date. I'm not used to seeing you with other women, in fact, I've never seen you with another woman, just mom. It's going to take some time."

Ed nodded as he stood up and walked over and sat down next to his daughter, "I know, honey. It's going to take some time for me to get used to the whole..." he paused, his hands waving, "dating scene. I haven't been on a date in thirty-five years, I have no idea how to act around women this day and age."

"Well, Daddy, here's a hint," she started, "girls still like getting flowers and they still like to be complimented."

He chuckled softly and reached out and brought her head over, kissing the top of her forehead.

"Daddy, call Sam. She really misses you."

"Delinda," he said with a soft sigh, "I can't. She told me something and it really scared the crap out of me."

"I know, Dad," she said softly, "But it's okay. I know you feel the same about her, and, Daddy, mom knew that the feelings were starting to arise, and she was okay with that. She'd want this, trust me."

Ed smiled softly at his daughter, "Are you sure you are really okay with this?"

Delinda hesitated for a moment and with a soft sigh, she nodded, "Just try and keep the PDAs away from me, okay?"

He laughed softly and nodded, "I promise." Kissing her cheek, he rose to his feet and headed for the door. Delinda watched him curiously, "Where are you going?"

Ed turned around and gave her a small smile, "To talk to Sam."

Sam had her nose buried in a book at Cuppa Joe's during one of her rare breaks. She mindlessly reached for the piece of chocolate chip muffin that rested on a doily and plate and placed it in her mouth, savoring the sweetness.

She slowly turned the page in her novel, becoming more engrossed with it after each page.

Ed walked all through the hotel, looking for her. After checking out by the pools, the casino, Mystique and Bella Sera, someone finally clued him in that she was spotted at the coffee shop. Walking by, he noticed her and walked over, but stopped short, noticing how into her book she was. He couldn't help but grin at her as he walked over and stood over her, clearing her throat softly, "Anybody ever tell you how incredibly cute you look in those glasses?"

Not realizing that it was Ed who said it, Sam replied, not looking up, "Only about a half dozen times."

"You should listen to them."

Sam looked up and then blushed as she reached for her marker and closed the book. Ed sat down across from her and reached for her book, "The DaVinci Code?"

The brunette nodded, "It's really a good book. Very fascinating."

Ed nodded as he reached over and pinched off a piece of her muffin, something that found himself rewarded with a smack on the hand. "Paws off," Sam said. "The book is somewhat hard to explain, it has a lot to do with the Bible, Leonardo DaVinci, Christ, the Catholic church..." she paused, "there's speculation that Mona Lisa was actually both man and woman and that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and she bore his child."

Her boss blinked a little, "Mary Magdalene was a prostitute."

"Ah," Sam said with a grin, "the Bible never actually comes out and says she was. It's really good, you should read it."

Ed scoffed, "I'll wait till the movie comes out."

The woman rolled her eyes. Trying to remain nonchalant, she said, "So what's up? I have exactly," she paused to look at her watch, "eight minutes left of my break."

"Eight whole minutes, huh?" He asked with an amused look. Sighing softly, he looked around a moment and then back at her, his voice was quiet, "Sam, I want to apologize for earlier. I panicked and it wasn't fair to you."

"Ed," Sam said with a quiet sigh, "I was the one who was unfair to you. I shouldn't have blurted that out. I really did not mean to freak you out. I feel awful about it."

Ed shook his head, "I want you to do me a favor. Get Mike and Danny to watch Jasmine tonight. I want to have dinner with you and I want it to be just the two of us."

His companion felt herself swallow hard, "Like a date?"

He grinned at her, "Yeah."

Sam nodded slowly, "Okay. What time do you want me to meet you and where do you want it to be?"

Ed chuckled softly, "You haven't done this much, have you? I'll pick you up around eight. Dress nice, not that you normally don't, but I'm taking you out tonight."

The woman nodded as she nervously bit her bottom lip, "Okay, I'll be ready."

He grinned as he leaned in and kissed her cheek and stood up and walked out of the restaurant.

Danny and Mike were watching Ed and Sam on the monitors and both let out a collective "whoa" when they saw him kiss her cheek.

"Did you see that?"

Danny nodded, softly, "Yeah. I thought he wasn't ready for this."

Mike sighed softly as he shrugged, "Apparently he is. I wonder what changed his mind."

"A persistent daughter who wants to see her father happy."

Both Mike and Danny whipped their heads around to see Delinda standing in the doorway. "Guys," she started as she walked in, "leave my dad and Sam alone, okay? Don't keep watching them and don't tease them or say anything that will make them feel bad."

Danny blinked in surprise, "You are okay with this?"

Delinda nodded, "Yeah, I am. She obviously makes him happy, and we all know how much we want Daddy happy."

The guys nodded mutely and Delinda smiled and walked over to them, kissing each one on the cheek and heading out.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"Ed!" Sam cried frantically on the phone.

Ed winced as he held the phone away from his ear for a moment, "What?"

"We forgot a key thing."

Sighing softly, the man worked around his desk, clearing it and getting things put up for the night. "What's wrong?"

"Jasmine." Sam said, "Who is going to watch her while we have our thing tonight?"

Ed sighed softly, "I forgot about that. Delinda said that she, Nessa and Mary are going to do some last minute Christmas shopping tonight, so that leaves..."

"Mike and Danny," Sam interrupted.

"Good god," Ed said with a groan, "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb babysitting? It's almost too scary to imagine."

"No kidding," the woman agreed as she surveyed the variety of clothes hanging up in her closet. "Hey, Ed, where are we going tonight?"

"Well what are you in the mood for?" He asked. "French, seafood, Italian... it's up to you, honey."

Sam shrugged as she grabbed a few dresses, "Doesn't matter to me."

Ed pondered a moment as he looked out the window of his office and took in the impressive view of Las Vegas. "Isis?"

She grinned, "Sounds great to me."

He chuckled softly, "Alright, I know the dinner hostess there, so I'm going to call her now and see if I can't get us a table."

Sam nodded as she surveyed her choices, "Okay, and Jasmine?"

Ed sighed softly as he ran a hand through his thinning hair, "It's too late to call a sitter, so we might be stuck with Danny and Mike. I'll make sure that they know if anything happens than it's their ass. Go ahead and bring Jasmine over tonight when I pick you up and I'll have Mike and Danny hang out here with her, she ought to be in familiar surroundings."

Sam nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll see you in a few hours then."

That said she hung the phone up and looked at the dresses scattered about her bed. Her eyes caught one and she grinned as she picked the hanger up and looked at it, carefully examining it to make sure that there were no spots or snags. Once she found it was still practically the way it was when she bought it, Sam hung it up on a hook on the door going into the bathroom and then hung up the remaining dresses and scurried in to take a shower.

Once Ed had the phone hung up, he walked out into the main area and found Danny and Mike at work. "Moe and Curly, get in here," he said as he walked back into his office.

Danny and Mike just blinked at each other a moment, "Was he talking to us?"

Danny nodded, "I think so."

The two men rose to their feet with a sigh and headed into Ed's office. Both stopped in their tracks when they witnessed the security chief packing up for the day. "Um, Ed, what's going on?"

Ed glanced up at his two employees, "I'm taking Sam to dinner tonight, I need you two knuckleheads to watch Jasmine for us for a few hours tonight."

Mike looked at his boss, and, daringly, said, "Babysitting? Mr. D, aren't we a little overqualified for that? I mean, don't you want a... you know... sixteen year old girl or something?"

The older man stood up to his full height and arched a brow at the cocky African American, "No, Mike, I don't want a sixteen year old girl. Sam and I want to eat our dinners knowing that she's taken care of. Delinda, Mary and Nessa are finishing their shopping, so you two are left."

"So we are your last resort then."

Ed sighed in irritation as he looked at Danny, "Just please do this for me, okay? You'll get compensated, I promise. Of course, that all depends on the condition of both the child and my house when we get back."

"Your house?" Mike gulped.

"Yes. It's going to be after ten by the time we get back, Jasmine has school tomorrow, she has to be in bed early. Don't worry about bathing, she'll already be in her pajamas, all you two have to do is watch her until bed, maybe give her a snack and a drink and tuck her in."

Danny and Mike just looked at each other and then looked at Ed. "I repeat," Mike said, "Aren't we a little overqualified? I mean, I have a masters in Engineering and Danny's an ex-Marine."

Ed smiled at them, "All the more reason you two are the men for this job. Now, no more arguing or you'll upset me."

"But whose gonna keep an eye out up here?" Danny asked, desperate to get out of the task.

"Mitch is here, so are Don, Bill, Sarah, and Lenny. The joint will be fine for a few hours."

Mike and Danny sighed softly, knowing there was no way out of it. Putting on his most sincere smile, Mike bravely asked, "When do we start?"

Sam stepped out of the shower and put on a robe and walked out to her bedroom, where she found Jasmine playing with her makeup. "Oh, no, no, no..." she said as she raced towards the little girl. By the time she got there, she was already too late.

Jasmine had taken her lipstick and smeared it all over her face and with a bright smile, she said, "Look, mommy, now I'm as pretty as you."

Sam sighed softly, knowing that she couldn't get angry with her after that remark. Smiling softly, she reached for some Kleenex and gently began to wipe away the makeup. "Honey, I've asked you to stay away from my makeup. Tonight's a very special night. Me and Daddy are going to dinner and Danny and Mike are going to baby sit you at Daddy's house."

The little girl cocked her head to the side and looked at Sam, "But, Mommy, Daddy said that he'd rather cut his balls off than let Danny and Mike baby sit me."

Sam gasped as she whipped around to look at her daughter, "Jasmine, never talk like that again! Daddy was wrong to say that and I'll make sure he puts in a hefty amount in the jars for teaching you that word. Danny and Mike will be fine, they'll play games with you and maybe you can get them to read you a story before bed, but you must be on your best behavior, promise?"

Jasmine nodded as she watched her mother take a coffee colored silk slip of a dress off a padded hanger. Unbeknownst that she was being watched, Sam slipped the dress on and zipped up the side zipper, adjusting the material around her figure so it hung nicely. She smiled softly at her reflection and stepped into the pair of chocolate suede pumps. Walking over to her vanity, she leaned down and put in a pair of diamond dangling earrings and then put on an antique necklace that had been in her family for generations. Glancing at her reflection in the mirror, she slipped a delicate watch on her wrist and then spritzed on some perfume. Turning to look at her daughter, she smiled at her, "Ready, honey?"

Jasmine just looked at her and nodded, "Mommy, you look really pretty."

Sam felt herself blush as she grabbed her silk wrap and bag, "Thank you. Now, go and get ready for bed and you can get a few dolls to take with you, Daddy will be here shortly."

The girl jumped off the bed and ran to her room to quickly change as Sam walked out of the bedroom and headed down to the living room to wait for Ed.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Sam pulled Jasmine's coat off and hung it up on the coat rack in the foyer of the Deline house. "Are you sure she can stay here?"

Ed rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm sure. She can take Delinda's old room."

She nodded quietly and soon Danny and Mike came in the room from Ed's kitchen, eating out of cartons of ice cream. "Hey Jasmine," Mike said with a grin as he held out his carton, "want a bite of Rocky Road?"

"Hey," Ed said, "What's the matter with you? Didn't your mothers ever teach you it's rude to come to somebody's house and eat out of their containers? Now what am I supposed to do? I can't eat that, not with your germs in it."

"Oh," Danny said softly as he looked at the ice cream and then at Ed, "Well, don't worry, Ed, we'll finish it off for you."

The older man rolled his eyes as Sam laughed. Looking at the laughing woman, Ed shook his head in disbelief, "Come on, we'd better go before I throw these two knuckleheads against a wall or something."

Sam nodded, still laughing, and walked over to Jasmine, scooping her up into her arms. "Okay, munchkin, tell me what the rules are."

Jasmine sighed as she dramatically rolled her eyes, a trait she clearly picked up from Ed. "No sassing, no hitting, go potty before I go to bed and say my prayers."

"And?" Sam prompted.

"No sneaking out of bed and lifting treasures from Daddy's room."

Danny and Mike blinked at each other in mild surprise and looked at Sam and Ed, their eyes questioning. Ed sighed softly, "I found my Palm pilot in her book bag."

Both men struggled not to break up in laughter as Sam kissed Jasmine on the forehead and gave her a hug. "You be a good girl and have fun and remember that I love you."

Jasmine looked at Sam a moment, her voice was small, "Will you be back for me, mommy?"

Sam's heart broke as she nodded, "Of course I will, Jas, you know that I will, okay?"

She nodded and smiled as she reached out for Ed, who picked her up and planted a kiss on the top of her nose. "We'll be back later, okay?"

Jasmine nodded and grinned, "Can you bring me a surprise?"

Ed laughed and leaned in, whispering conspiratorially into Jasmine's ear, "I'll try and swipe you some tiramisu, how's that?"

The girl nodded and grinned as Ed put her back down and looked at Mike and Danny, "Alright, guys, pay attention. No parties, no long-distance phone calls, no friends just dropping by and don't make any messes. The access code to the alarm is 1673, make sure you set it when we leave, okay?"

Mike grinned, "Dad, can we have money for a pizza?"

Ed rolled his eyes, contemplating smacking his employee upside the head. "Try not to screw this up, Mike, alright?"

"Ed," Danny said, "Relax, okay? We can handle this."

Ed nodded warily. "Come on," Sam said, slipping her hand in Ed's. "We'll miss our reservations."

The man glanced over in surprise and nodded and soon the two were headed out towards the silver Aston Martin. Smiling, Ed opened the door for Sam and helped her in and then walked around and got into the drivers' side and soon the car sped off.

As soon as Ed and Sam were out the door, a pillow hit Mike squarely in the back of the head. "It's party time!"

"Ow," Mike said in a monotone voice as he reached down and picked the pillow up. "You know, Jas, I really don't think Sam and Mr. D want you to just be throwing these around, they look pretty expensive."

The girl laughed as she ran over and wrapped her arms around Danny's leg and sat down on his foot. Grinning up at him adoringly, she said, "You are cute. Wanna marry me?"

Danny coughed in response and then looked down at her and picked her up. "How about this? How about we raid the freezer, I'm sure you guys have the makings of a killer hot fudge sundae."

"Ah, Danny," Mike started as he followed them to the kitchen, "I don't think Ed and Sam wanted her to have that much sugar this close to bed, we'll never get to her sleep."

"Mike," Danny said, "a little ice cream never hurt anybody." He walked over to the freezer and opened it up and began to take out cartons of ice cream. "Jasmine, get me some bowls and spoons."

The girl walked over and pulled the drawer out roughly, pulling everything out with it. Mike sighed as he walked over and took the drawer from Jasmine's hand and carefully put it back in, "I can just see it now," he said softly, "Ed's gonna kick our asses after tonight, I just know it."

"Would you just relax? It was an accident. There isn't a kid alive who hasn't done that at some point." Danny said as he grabbed a few spoons and some bowls himself. "Alright, Jasmine, what'll it be? Chocolate, vanilla or rocky road?"

"Chocolate!" she declared and then Danny began to spoon out some ice cream into a bowl. "With lots of hot fudge."

Mike groaned, he knew this would be a long night.

"Maybe I should call and just check and see how things are going."

"Sam," Ed said with a sigh. "Relax, honey, okay? She's fine. Mike and Danny are over grown kids themselves."

"I know, Ed, and that's what scares me." She grabbed her bag and reached into it and took her phone out, "I just want to call and see..."

She was cut off when Ed grabbed the phone out of her hand and looked at her, "Relax. I promise you, she's fine."

Sam sighed, "It's just that it's the first time I've ever really left her alone, and you heard what she said when we were leaving. That broke my heart, Ed."

He nodded as he sipped his wine, "I know, Samantha, it broke mine too, but she's gotta learn to establish a little trust in us. If she sees us go out and sees that we don't just leave her, that we do come home, than things'll be fine. But," he said as he reached for her hand and brushed his lip along her inner wrist, "You have to establish some trust in me too."

Sam smiled softly, "I do trust you, Ed. But that doesn't mean I don't worry about her."

Ed nodded and smiled at her, "Hence the reason you make a good mom to her."

As Sam was about to respond, Lem Hainen walked by. "Ed, Sam, what a nice surprise."

Sam plastered on a smile as she reached for her own glass of wine and took a sip. "Lem."

Ed looked up and gave his attorney a soft smile, "You taking Margaret out tonight?"

Lem nodded with a smile, "Yeah, thought maybe it'd be nice to get out of the house. Listen, Ed, Sam, not wanting to bring business into pleasure, we need to schedule a meeting as soon as possible. I did some investigating on the Clines and came up with some very interesting information."

Sam's interest was piqued as she looked at him, "What sort of information?"

Lem glanced around and saw that his wife was seated already. Holding a finger up to her in her direction, he sat down in an empty seat at Ed and Sam's table. Leaning in, he said quietly, "I found out that Douglas has a couple of accusations against him, one in Chicago and two in New York."

Ed looked at his friend and attorney, "Allegations of what?"

"Sexual abuse of a minor, rape."

Sam felt herself take in a sharp breath as Ed quickly reached across the table and took her hand. Looking away from the men, Sam took a moment to compose herself, sighing deeply. She looked at Lem, "How old were the girls? They were girls, right?"

Lem shook his head, "Two were, one was a twelve-year-old boy. The girls were eight and six, they were sisters. As far as I can tell, there is no link between them and the boy."

"Son of a bitch," Ed said softly. Sam just sat there, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Now listen, guys," Lem said, "You aren't supposed to know this, alright? I was going to save it for the trial, but it is a pretty shocking piece of information and I didn't want you guys to lose focus of what is important. I've talked to the mother of the boy and she's agreed to allow him to testify. As for the girls, well their parents don't want them to be subjected to this again, which I totally understand. But, they have agreed to testify themselves, since the father actually walked in on Douglas molesting one of his daughters."

Sam sighed again as she allowed the information to soak in. "How old are the kids now?"

"The boy is seventeen and the girls are nine and eleven. Sam, as twisted as this sounds, this is good. This will really help our case, and I don't even think that Katherine has any idea that this happened. She's been living in her own little dream world for the past few years anyway."

Sam nodded, "Yeah,"

Ed gave Lem a soft smile, "Lem, thanks. I really appreciate this, and I know that Sam does too. If this doesn't help us get the Clines out of our lives, than I really don't know what else to do."

"Oh you'll get them out of your lives, Ed," Lem promised, "and if things go as I hope, Douglas will spend the remaining years of his life behind bars."

Ed nodded as he raised his glass up to Lem, "Thank you."

He nodded and smiled, giving Sam a gentle pat on the back. "You guys try and enjoy your dinner." He said as he rose up.

Ed gave him a smile, "Kiss your wife for me."

Lem nodded as he made his way back to his wife, leaving Sam sitting there in a stunned silence. Ed watched her for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, she spoke, "What if he did it to Jasmine?"

He sighed deeply as he stood up and moved over to the other chair and sat next to her, softly, "We just have to pray that he didn't, honey. She's too young to understand the specifics of it anyway, and, to be honest, I'm not sure if I can get graphic with her, especially with something like this."

Sam nodded, "No, I know, Ed, you are right. But the very thought of that man..." she sighed as she looked at the appetizers on the table. "Ed, I'm sorry, but I..."

"Lost your appetite?"

She nodded as she looked at him, softly, "Yeah."

Ed nodded as he stood up, "Okay, honey, it's okay. I didn't really feel much like eating myself. Listen, Mike and Danny are with her now, and I trust them, I really do. How about we just take a drive or something."

Sam nodded as she stood up and grabbed her bag, "Yeah, Ed, I'm really sorry about this."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he dropped down more than enough to cover the wine and appetizers, plus a tip. "Don't worry about it, ok? After news like that, I don't know how anybody could eat. Let's just go for a nice drive, and if either of us get hungry, we'll worry about it when it happens."

Sam nodded and smiled at him. She stopped walking and looked at him and kissed his cheek softly, "What would I ever do without you?"

"Not have access to a Hummer and Aston-Martin," he responded with a grin.

Sam rolled her eyes as she poked him hard in the side, causing him to laugh as they walked out of the restaurant.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

The silver Aston-Martin cruised through Vegas for almost two hours before one of them spoke.

"If he hurt her, I swear to god, you better get a lot of money together because you are going to have to bail me out of jail."

Ed sighed quietly as he reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Let's not think about that, okay?"

Sam sighed as she raked a hand through her hair, "He gives me the creeps, Ed. He's a pervert. A child molester. I just want to hurt him so badly."

He nodded in understanding, "I know, honey, I do too, but we can't, because if we did, than we'd surely lose custody of her."

Sam turned and looked at him in surprise, "We?"

Ed quietly cursed to himself, "Well, obviously, I met you. You would surely lose your custody battle."

"Ed, pull over."

He quickly glanced at her for a moment before doing as she asked. When the car had come to a stop, Sam got out and walked a few paces up. Ed got out of the car and watched her, "Did I say something wrong, Sam? I'm sorry if I did."

Sam turned and walked back towards him, meeting him in front of the car. "No, you didn't." She sighed and looked at him carefully, "Ed, do you love her? Jasmine, I mean, do you love her?"

Ed just looked at her, wondering where she was going with all of this. He thought seriously for a moment before nodding slowly, his voice was quiet, yet honest, "Yes, Sam, I love her. I love her very much, as if she were my own daughter."

She nodded as she leaned against the car, her own voice was quiet against the cars speeding past them on the highway. "Jasmine needs a father, Ed. Not a father figure but the real deal. She needs that security. She needs everything that you offered Delinda when she was Jasmine's age."

He winced at the mention of his daughter, softly, "I wasn't able to offer her much when she was a young girl, Sam. I was always gone, either on covert missions or a training seminar, or something like that. I was a lousy father to her."

Sam gave him a soft smile as she took his hand, "I truly doubt that she thinks that, Ed. But, I guess what I was trying say, or ask rather, is," she paused to take a deep breath, "would you consider adopting Jasmine? You don't have to have any financial obligation to her at all," she added quickly, "I've that that aspect more than covered, but she loves you so much, and you are really the only father she's ever had."

Ed blinked in surprise as he looked at her, "Sam, are you sure?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I am. But only if you want to, Ed, there's no obligation here, and if you don't want to, you can still see as much of her as you'd like."

The older man pushed himself away from his car and walked a little bit, thinking over what he'd just been asked. He sighed deeply as he turned and walked back to her and took both of her hands in his and kissed the tops gently. Smiling at her, he said softly, "I'd be honored."

"She can't possibly last any longer."

"You are the one who gave her double chocolate ice cream, hot fudge and cherries. This is on you, not me."

Danny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "She's just a kid, I didn't think that she'd..."

"Start bouncing off the walls the minute sugar entered her system? Danny, what on earth possessed you do that? Ed's gonna kill you when he gets back." Mike just stared in amazement as he watched the girl jumping on the couch.

"We gotta stop her, Mike, if Ed and Sam were to come home and see this, they'd..."

"Drag us out to the desert and bury us alive?" Mike sighed as he walked over to Jasmine, "Alright Miss Jasmine, come on, it's time for you to go to bed."

Jasmine giggled as she continued to jump on the couch, "No bed. I wanna stay up till mommy and daddy get home."

"Um, Jasmine," Danny began as he approached the hyper child, "Ed and Sam won't be back for a few hours, and you have school tomorrow. They'd be really mad if you were still up when they got home."

She stopped jumping and flopped down hard on the couch. Squealing in laughter, she stood up and started to jump again, only to be caught by Mike. He looked at her, and in a semi-stern voice, he said, "Jasmine, it's bedtime. Now."

The girl looked at him and her face began to crumble and soon great big crocodile tears began to stream down from her chocolate brown eyes. Mike immediately felt a huge pang of guilt, "Jasmine, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you."

Danny walked over and took the crying child and held her, trying calm her down as he glared daggers over at Mike, knowing that this would only make it harder to get the child to go to sleep.

"So, what do you think Ed and Sam are going to do?"

Nessa stirred her drink as she shrugged, "Well, do you mean tonight, or in the long run?"

"Long run," Mary said as she nibbled on her brownie.

"It's hard to say," her friend replied, "I don't see Ed eager to take another stroll down the matrimony aisle anytime soon, I don't think he's quite over losing Jillian. But, on the other hand, they have been spending time together."

Mary nodded, "I think it'd be kind of weird... if they got married. I mean, surely, Sam would have to leave the Montecito, she couldn't be a casino host if her husband was President. Talk about nepotism."

"Yet," Nessa added, "Delinda works here and that's a little nepotistic, isn't it?"

"Good point," the redhead agreed. "I just... I don't know... Knowing that Sam and Ed are... you know... doing the horizontal polka just kind of freaks me out. I don't know why, but it just does."

Nessa pulled a face as she dropped the mozzarella stick she was having. "Yeah, thanks for the visual, Mary. My good friend and my surrogate father having sex is not something I want to ever think about, now I will probably have nightmares for weeks."

Mary laughed as she stood up, "I'm sorry, you are right. I mean, don't get me wrong, Ed is a very good looking man, and Sam, well, she's just gorgeous, but..."

"Enough!" Nessa stood up and looked at her, "Do not finish that statement, Mary, I'm warning you, or else you'll have this drink all down the front of your blouse."

Mary held her hands up, "Okay, I'm sorry, I'll shut up. I gotta go anyway, I promised Sam I'd try and score her some tickets to a Celine Dion show over at Caesar's." Mary dropped some money on the table, "Next one's on you, Ness."

The African American woman nodded as she headed out of Mystique and went back to work.

"You think my house is still one piece?"

"Do you think my child is still in one piece?"

Ed sighed as he shook his head, "The thought of those two alone in my house just scares me."

"Relax," Sam said, "I'm sure your house is fine, I'm sure that Jasmine is probably already fast asleep and Mike and Danny are just kicking back, watching television, and eating your food."

He chuckled softly, "They are like human garbage disposals, I swear. You know, I once saw both them scarf down a medium pizza with everything, two pieces of cake and a double cheeseburger with bacon - each."

Sam just looked at him, "Okay, now I officially hate them. How is it that they are able to eat all of that and not gain a pound? If I ate all that,"

Ed cut her off, "You'd still be 105 pounds with sandbags in your pants."

The woman just rolled her eyes as she reached into her purse and grabbed a rubber band and then grabbed her long thick auburn hair and put it in a ponytail. Ed watched her, "God, that was sexy."

Sam just laughed, "All I did was put my hair in a ponytail, something I've done a million times. Surely you've seen me do it before."

He nodded, "I have, but I guess I just never noticed it."

She laughed again and looked out the window, "Thanks for tonight, Ed," she said, "I know that dinner kind of bombed, but despite the information we found out, it was actually a really nice evening."

He glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye, "We will nail that bastard, Sam. I swear to you, he won't get away with it. I'm gonna call Luis and ask him to be at the trial and hopefully Lem will be able to get Douglas to admit it on the stand and Luis can arrest him from there."

"Yeah, well," she said, "Assholes like that don't deserve prison, they deserve shallow graves out in the desert."

He chuckled softly in agreement.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Ed put the key in the lock and unlocked the door and walked in. Looking around, he examined his abode, "Well," he said, loosening his tie, "so far I don't see anything broken."

Sam laughed as she walked in and set her purse on the table, "Unfortunately, I don't see a little body and two big bodies either."

"True," he agreed as he went in the opposite direction of Sam. "Danny? Mike?" He called out through the house as he walked around the spacious mansion. He walked up to a sliding glass door that lead outside to the pool and backyard. Opening the door, Ed stepped out and looked around. "Sam, come here!"

Sam ran out to where Ed was and saw him outside. Walking outside, Sam looked at him, "What?"

The man pointed to a large family sized raft floating in the pool, Danny on one side, and Mike on the other, with Jasmine between both, all three asleep. "They got her in the pool?!" Sam asked in shock. "She doesn't know how to swim very good."

"They have her between them, so she's safe," Ed defended.

"Well," she said with a sigh, "how are we going to get them back?"

Ed looked around for a moment and then walked over to the pool house. Opening the door, he popped his head in and grabbed a long armed net and walked towards the pool, grinning at Sam. Getting down on his stomach on the ground, he slowly and carefully brought the floating raft towards the side of the pool, the occupants still sound asleep. "Get Jasmine inside," he whispered, picking the sleeping child up and handing her to Sam.

"Wait, I want to see what you are going to do," Sam said.

"I'll wait till you get back," Ed promised as Sam nodded and walked inside. Within minutes she came back out and found Ed standing up, holding the raft in the same place. Once he saw Sam, he used the net to flip the raft over, causing Mike and Danny to fall into the water.

Both men came sputtering back up for air as Sam laughed hard and as soon as the heads of Mike and Danny hit the surface, her laughter came to a sharp stop. "Where's my daughter?"

Mike and Danny looked around, both completely saturated with water. "Huh?" Danny asked.

"My daughter," Sam said as she knelt down by the side of the pool, keeping her face stone cold. "Where is she?"

"Oh my god, no," Mike said as he dove underwater. Minutes later he was back up, a horrified look on his face as he looked at both Sam and Ed, "She was here, with us, on this raft."

Danny nodded quickly, "Yeah, she was right between us, she couldn't go to sleep and she asked if she could go swimming, we said no but then she asked to float." He stopped and looked at Ed, "Ed, I swear to god, she was right here."

"Well," Ed said softly as he looked at Sam and then back at the guys, "where is she now?"

"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Mike said as he got out of the pool and frantically searched the backyard. Danny followed his friend's lead and jumped out as well, checking to see if the gate had been opened.

"She was right here!" Danny swore as he continued to look at the stoic faces of Ed and Sam. "Sam, I swear, she was right here."

Ed shook his head, a smile appearing and soon he chuckled, causing Sam to lose her cool, joining him in laughter, "Relax, Mrs. Doubtfire, Ed brought he raft to the side of the pool and I got her out and put her in bed."

Mike just stared at them, his jaw dropped, "You mean you let us think something happened to her and she's really just upstairs sleeping?"

Sam shrugged, "Shouldn't have let her go in the pool without me here, she doesn't swim very well yet."

"Yeah, but, Sam, that was just mean." Danny said. "We were really worried and scared."

"Your right," she said sweetly as she walked over to them, "I'm sorry, and, to make it up to you," she said as she reached into her purse and took out a pad of comp sheets, "I'm going to comp you a free meal." She grinned as she tore two coupons off and handed one to Danny and one to Mike.

The guys rolled their eyes and stuffed them in their pockets. "I'm going home," Mike announced as he headed towards the gate.

"Yeah, me too," Danny said, following his friend.

Ed walked over to Sam, chuckling as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, watching Danny and Mike walk out the gate, "Thanks for babysitting, guys."

"Yeah, yeah," Danny said as he got into his car.

Sam laughed, shaking her head as he walked over and sat down on a chaise lounge, sighing deeply, "What a day," she remarked, laying down. Ed watched her for a moment and then walked over to a neighboring chair and laid down next to her.

"I had a good time tonight," he said softly, reaching for her hand.

Sam looked over at him and smiled as she placed her hand in his, "Yeah," she said softly, "me too. You make a pretty good date, Ed."

"You mean it's over?" He asked, frowning, "Oh, that's too bad."

"Well, what more is there to do? I mean, we've had dinner and had a nice drive, it really was a nice evening, despite what Lem told us."

Ed nodded quietly, his thumb running over the top of her hand. He remained quiet for a moment, suddenly finding that he can't take his eyes away from her. He sighed softly and sat up, dropping her hand. "Would you excuse me for just a moment please?" He asked her as he stood up and walked inside.

Sam sat up as she watched him walk into the house, confused. She sighed softly as she kicked her shoes off and began to take off her clothes, deciding to take a dip into the pool.

Ed walked into the house and went up the stairs to his bedroom, taking two at a time. Once he got to the landing, he gripped the banister for a second to regain his balance and walked into the room, closing the door behind him, and walked over and sat down on the end of the bed, propping his elbows on his knees and lowering his head, sighing deeply.

"Honey, I really need ya now," he said quietly as he looked up. "I don't know what to do, Jillian, I haven't had these feelings in almost two years." He sighed, "Are you hearing me?" he asked impatiently, "I am asking for help. I need a sign telling me what to do, Jill, anything, honey, please, just give me a clue."

He sighed again when all he heard was the clock ticking. Standing up, Ed walked over to the dresser and picked up the picture of his wife. "Please help me," he silently pleaded to her, "help me do right by both her and you. I will always love you, always, no woman would ever be able to take your place in my heart, Jillian. But," he paused as he slowly realized it himself, "I also love her. I love her, I really do, and it's scaring the hell out of me..." He sighed quietly, "God, if only this were easier..."

Ed set the picture back on the dresser, and turned to walk away. As he walked away, his hand slipped and the picture fell to the ground, face down. Quickly, he bent over to pick it up, but noticed a white corner sticking out the back. Curiously, he picked the picture up and walked over to the bed and slowly opened the back and found a piece of folded paper. Ed unfolded the paper and quietly gasped when he saw the flowery script of his deceased wife's handwriting. His hands shaking, he slowly began to read...

__

My Dearest Eddie

By now surely I have gone on to a better place where the pain can no longer reach me. Hopefully you have been able to slowly rebuild your life and assist in the reconstruction of the life of our daughter. You are probably sitting there wondering why I would put this in the back of a frame that held a picture of myself, aren't you? Well, Handsome, the truth is I know you better than you know yourself. You like to play the role of a tough guy who is solid as granite who needs nobody or nothing, but we both know how wrong that is. Ed, there has never been a day for nearly forty years that I even had a sliver of doubt where your love was concerned, and hopefully you've never once doubted my love for you. But the truth is, Eddie, that regardless of what life holds, I don't want you to go through it alone. I want you to be happy and I want you to love. It's okay for you to love another woman, honey, it really is. It's okay for you to touch her, hold her hand, kiss her, even make love to her if you choose... Just don't take her on any gondola rides. That's something that I want to remain between us, it was kind of fun to carry around a secret as sexy and erotic as those gondola rides. Thank god Mr. Adelson never found out about what we used to do in those gondolas, he'd never let us back! Please know, honey, that it's okay for you to reach the point where you are willing to loosen your grasp on me and slowly start to let me go. I know that I will always be in your heart, as you will always be in mine, but I know that you have a big enough heart to let another woman in, and I want you to. Thank you for everything that you did, said and taught me, and always remember that I will love you and watch out for you and I won't ever let you do anything that will come back and hurt you later on.

All my love and more,

Jillian

Ed slowly folded the piece of paper back up and held it to his chest. Sighing deeply, he took a shaky breath and brought the paper to his lips, whispering softly, "Always knew I could count on you to come through when I needed you, sweetheart." He walked over and opened the dresser drawer and set the letter in and closed the drawer and made his way back downstairs to where Samantha Jane was outside.

Sam looked around once she had stripped down to her bra and panties. She had to admit that she felt a little uncomfortable, but after watching Mike and Danny in the water, she craved the cool feel of liquid on her skin. Slowly stepping down into the shallow end of the pool, she was glad that she wore one of her best sets of undergarments, not that she expected to get lucky tonight, but it came in handy, at least she could pass it off as a bikini and hoped that Ed wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Walking further into the pool, she slowly cupped her hand in the water and poured some on her arms.

"Sam?" Ed walked out and stopped quickly when he found her in his pool. "Um, hi."

Sam felt herself blush a little as she just grinned at him, "Hi, I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it, I'll get out now." She started to make her way back towards the steps in the pool.

"No, stay there. Um, tell ya what, I have some shorts in the pool house, I'll go change and join you, okay?" He made his way towards the pool house as Sam nodded quietly, sitting down on one of the steps.

Looking around the backyard, she noticed a lot of things that she had never really seen before, one thing in particular being a Italian styled fountain. Standing up, Sam slowly walked out of the pool and headed towards the fountain to look at it, "Wow," she said softly as she reached out to brush her fingers over the molded concrete.

"We bought that up in Tuscany."

Sam jumped, letting out a soft scream. "Whoa," Ed said as he steadied her, "you ok?"

"You scared the crap out of me, Ed!" Sam cried out, socking him in the shoulder.

"I'm sorry!" He said, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder, "I didn't mean to scare you."

The woman sighed softly as she ran a hand through her hair, "Jasmine still asleep?"

"Like the sleeping beauty that she is," he responded, causing Sam to smile.

"Come on," he said, leading her back to the pool. Getting a good look at what she was wearing, Ed reached out and fingered the tag, which was sticking out of the back of Sam's bra.

"Excuse you," She said, stopping, looking at him. "You mind?"

"I apologize," he said, stepping into the pool, "I just was surprised that you were wearing your underwear to swim in."

Sam shrugged as she followed him in, "Well, I didn't have a swim suit here and I wanted to go for a swim."

Ed nodded, "Well, why don't you get one and keep it here." He shrugged as he lowered himself down into the water, allowing it to cover his broad shoulders, "Makes sense to me."

Sam smiled as she swam down to the deep end of the pool. "That's sweet, Ed, but I think I've taken up enough of your house, don't you think?"

"Honey," he said with a sigh, "would you stay still for just one minute please?"

His companion just looked at him as she swam over to where he was, "What is it?"

Ed looked around for a second, as if he expected somebody to walk in on them. "Let's go into the spa." He walked over and got out of the pool and held his hand out, helping her out as well. Sam followed him in a curious silence and then got into the small, octagonal spa with him and sat down in front of a jet. "What's going on, Ed?"

"I've been doing some thinking," he admitted.

She nodded, "Good, I hear that's a healthy, normal thing."

"Would you cut the smart ass remarks and just let me speak please?"

Sam blinked and nodded quietly, "Of course, I'm sorry."

Ed sighed softly as he looked at her, "Listen, I've been doing some thinking, and a lot of soul searching, plus--and you are going to think this is crazy--talking to Jillian." He paused as he watched her nod, a little surprised that she didn't tease him for talking to his dead wife. "I've realized something too, and it's probably something that I already knew but didn't quite want to accept it." He paused again as he sighed softly, "The thing is, I love you."

"Ed," she began, only to find him hold a hand up to her. "Please," he said, "let me finish." Sam nodded as she listened. "I know that we ran into a road block on this last week, but it was like a light went off and it just clicked with me, Samantha." He smiled at her softly as he reached over and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I want to give it a shot with you, Samantha Jane, that is, of course, if you still want something like that."

Sam looked down at her hands and the bubbling waters of the spa. She took in a deep breath and felt intoxicated by the smell of the tropical flowers and plants which grew in abundance in this surprisingly lush and green desert backyard. Looking back at Ed, she really took a moment to study him, his facial features. As if reaching out to touch the face of God, Sam's fingertips gently skimmed the contours of Ed's face, around his eyes, trailing down to the corners of his mouth. She felt the corners of her own mouth tug into a smile, "I would like that very much."

He smiled broadly as he took her hand and kissed her and gently brought her over into her lap, "I'm not good at this," he said, almost as if he was warning her.

She smiled at him, "You are starting to make me think that you are a liar, Ed."

He laughed quietly and then leaned in and kissed her softly and soon Sam felt herself respond, kissing him back. After a few minutes of kissing, she pulled back and looked at him, a slight grin on her face, "Do you really want to sit outside in your spa kissing all night?"

"No," he said, gently giving her a nudge out of his lap and stepping out of the spa. He held his hand out to her, "I can think of a warmer, softer place I'd rather be doing this, and a lot more than just kissing."

Sam bit her bottom lip softly, "Ed, I don't want you to think that I expect..."

He silenced her with a finger to her lips, "If I didn't want to do this, Sam, I wouldn't be doing it. Now, take my hand."

She smiled at him as she reached for his hand and got out and the two walked back inside and up the stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind them.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Delinda pulled into the parking lot of Coyote Ugly and parked in a spot. Cutting the engine of her car, she adjusted the rear view mirror and checked her makeup. After a quick reapplication of some glittery lip gloss, Delinda grabbed her small purse and got out of the car, taking her ID and some money out for the cover charge. As she headed up, she spotted a guy at the end of the line and smiled at him, "Hey."

The man turned and looked at her, "Hey yourself, gorgeous."

Delinda grinned as she turned around and then glanced over her shoulder at him in a flirty way. The man chuckled softly, "So, what's your name, honey?"

"Delinda," she said with a smile. "And yours?"

"Brian," he responded, flashing her one of his own smiles. Glancing around, he moved closer to her, "So, you um... you here with anybody?"

Delinda grinned at him, "Nope,"

"Good," he said as he grinned back at her, slipping a hand around her waist. "You wanna hang out?"

The blond daughter of Ed Deline just laughed as she shook her head, "Wow, there's a cheesy line if ever I heard it."

Brian laughed as he shook his head, "Come on, baby, we could have us some real fun."

"Alright," she agreed with a grin, "I'll hang out with you."

The man grinned as he pulled her closer as they waited in line.

Sam found herself wide awake as she laid in Ed's arms. Glancing up at him, she found that he was sleeping and she slowly untangled herself away from him and slipped out of bed. Her nude form moving around the room quietly, Sam looked for something she could cover herself up with. Finding nothing in the bedroom, Sam walked into the master bathroom and found Ed's robe hanging up on a hook behind the door. Quickly peeking out, she found him still sleeping soundly and she reached for the navy blue flannel robe and slipped it on, tying it around her waist.

Stepping out of his bedroom, Sam made a quick stop and poked her head in and checked on Jasmine. Grinning, she found the girl sleeping soundly, the blankets tangled around her legs. Stepping inside, Sam quietly crept towards the bed and gently lifted the girl's leg back into bed and fixing the blankets. Leaning down, she brushed a quick kiss along her cheek and then turned around, heading out of the room. Making her way down the stairs slowly, Samantha Jane walked outside and curled up in a chair by the pool and looked up at the stars and sighed deeply, "What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself as she shook her head.

Lowering her head, she smelled something and slowly she lifted her arm up and breathed in the smell of the flannel, smelling the heavy aroma of a man's cologne. Tugging the robe tighter around herself she slowly stood up and walked around the pool, "Why do I feel like the other woman," she asked herself softly before looking up at the stars in the sky. In the distance, she saw the glittering horizon of the Las Vegas strip, "Why do I feel like he's cheating on you with me? The last thing I ever intended when I met him was to fall in love with him... So why does it feel like I'm doing something wrong?" She sighed again as she tucked a chocolate lock of hair behind her ear, pacing around the pool.

Ed stood from the bedroom window, watching as Sam paced. Sighing softly, he pulled on a pair of sweats and walked downstairs and outside, "Hey," he said softly.

Not expecting anybody else out there, Sam jumped as she let out a quiet scream, "Ed, you scared me."

He gave her an apologetic smile as he walked over to her, "I'm sorry," taking a look at her in his robe, he grinned a little, "That looks better on you than me."

The woman felt herself blush, "Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't feel like getting dressed, but I didn't want to walk around naked."

Ed nodded as he lead her over to a chaise lounge and sat down, "I guess my question is why you felt you wanted to walk in the first place. Did I do something wrong, Sam? Did I hurt you?"

"What?" She asked him in surprise, "No, no, god no, Ed. You didn't hurt me at all... well... at least not in a bad way," she said with a soft grin. "No," she sighed deeply, "I guess that once it was over and done with and I was laying there in the bed that you and your wife shared for so many years, I felt a little crowded."

Ed closed his eyes as she sighed, "Samantha Jane, I'm sorry, I didn't even realize, the last thing I wanted you to feel was badly about anything."

She smiled at him softly as she shrugged, "It's an insecurity thing on my part, Ed, really, I'm fine. I really enjoyed myself, I love spending time with you, regardless of what we are doing."

Ed grinned at her as he reached for her hand and kissed it softly, "I'm thinking of selling this place," he said quietly. "It's much too big of a house for one person."

"Well... Delinda and Nessa... don't they come over and spend the night sometimes?"

He sighed deeply, "Delinda and Nessa have their own lives, they don't need to be worrying about their old man."

"Okay," she said softly, "Than think about it from this aspect... This was the last place that you lived at with Jillian. Are you sure you are ready to just give that up? And besides, where would you move to anyway? You don't really strike me as an apartment, or even penthouse, guy."

Ed rose to his feet and paced a little, "I know... I don't know if I'm ready or not, Sam. Some days I think that I'm going to be fine, that I can make it through the day and everything will be just fine... but then there are others when I have to literally force myself to get my ass out of bed."

"It's called grief, Ed," she stated simply. "When I lost Philip, I didn't get out of bed for almost a month. Not for anything. I stopped eating, stopped working... I didn't even shower. I was a mess."

Ed glanced over at her as he crossed his arms over his chest, "How'd you get over it?"

"What makes you think that I have?" She asked him softly. "The pain is still there, Ed, I won't lie to you, it won't ever go away. But, in time, the pain goes from being a piercing, sharp pain... something that leaves you in agony... to being a dull pain... like... if you get hit on the head. It hurts like hell for a while afterward, and it'll make a knot on your head, but eventually the pain will subside, but it'll only hurt when it's directly touched."

He nodded quietly as he looked up at vast expanse of black in the sky. Chuckling softly, he said quietly, "Jillian refused to buy this place until she saw it at night. She wanted to see the stars. She used to say that the nighttime sky reminded her of a huge piece of black velvet with diamonds thrown on it. She knew every planet rotation, each constellation, the Milky Way, the Big and Little Dippers..." His voice trailed off as Sam smiled quietly.

"I didn't realize that she liked astrology."

He nodded, "Oh yeah," he said softly, "she's nuts about it..." he paused as he realized what he said, adding quietly, "or, was, I guess."

Sam stood up and walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. Ed sighed softly as he glanced down and gave her a small smile, kissing the top of her head and wrapped an arm around her, the two looking up at the sky.

"So tell me about yourself," Delinda said as she sipped her sour apple martini.

"What's to tell?" Brian asked, drinking his own beer.

"Well, let's see... last name, where you grew up, what you do, that sort of thing."

He chuckled softly, "Hart, Seattle, I'm a casino manager."

"Really?" Delinda asked, her interest piqued, "Where at?"

"Luxor," he said. Glancing up at the bar, he noted the women dancing on the bar and shook his head. "I'll be right back, I'm gonna use the bathroom."

Delinda nodded quietly as she watched him go and then turned her attention to the ladies dancing. She grinned as she stood up and walked over, "Hey, you got room for one more?"

A woman grinned as she held a hand down and helped Delinda up on the bar. Swinging her hips, she ran her hands up through her mane of blond hair, dancing with the other women. Before she knew it, she was back to back with one of the dancers, the two of them dancing in a very suggestive manner. Laughing, Delinda reached out and smacked the rear of the other woman and headed towards the end of the bar where the ladder was. Quickly pulling her arms into her t-shirt, Delinda unclasped her bra and threw it at the women, "It's been fun girls!" The women squealed as they tossed the black lacy bra towards a man who nailed it to the wall of fame alongside the other bras that the bar had collected over the years.

As she stepped off the bar, she laughed as she stumbled, falling into the arms of Brian. "Hey!" She said, her smile quickly fading as she saw the look of anger on his face. "What's wrong?"

He looked at her, "Is that how you act? Like a slut?"

Delinda blinked, her voice soft, "Excuse me? I was just having some fun. Lots of the women dance and leave their bras, that's the whole purpose of this place, if you didn't like it, than why'd you come?"

Brian sighed, "Because I enjoy watching the sluts, not hanging out with them. Look, maybe I should just go."

As he turned to leave, Delinda felt a wave of guilt, "Brian, wait!" She quickly walked over to him, "Look, I'm sorry, I really am. I was just having some fun. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She sighed quietly as she looked at him, "I realize we just met, but I really like you. I'd really like to get to know you."

Brian looked down at her, "Where's your car?"

"Out in the parking lot," she said softly.

He nodded and looked around, "Come with me, I'll bring you back so you can get it."

Before Delinda could say a word, Brian had taken her hand and was leading her to his car, "Get in," he ordered when they got to his Escalade.

The woman quietly got into the car and buckled up, a little worried. Before she even realized it, Brian had gotten into the car, started it up, and sped out of the parking lot.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"So, where are we going?"

Brian didn't answer her, but instead kept his eyes focused on the road before him. Delinda looked out the window, but found it was futile as it was pitch black outside and she was certain they were out in the desert. Sighing quietly, she chewed her bottom lip in nervousness for a moment before saying, "Hey, you know what? Why don't you just go ahead and let me out here, ok? I can get a ride back to get my car, it's really not a big deal."

Brian stopped the car and looked at her, "See, I'm bettin' you don't know who I am, do you? I actually know you, and I know your father and the slut that he's sleeping with. Things seem to be mighty cozy in the Deline home. It's just surprising to me that ole Ed Deline would screw another woman in the same bed that his wife laid dying in."

Delinda felt her stomach turn. Blinking back tears of rage and embarrassment, she quietly asked, "What do you want?"

"Justice," he said. "I'll be damned if I'll sit back and watch that bitch and old man take my niece away from her parents."

The woman felt her stomach drop, "Niece?" Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out what to do, "You are Katherine Cline's brother?"

"Katy loves that girl like there's no tomorrow."

Feeling brave, Delinda straightened her back, "Is that so? Well if that's the case why did she let her husband molest her and then leave her in a hotel for almost a year?"

Seconds later, Delinda felt the sting on her face and watched as Brian drew his hand back. "Bitch," he spat venomously.

Delinda looked away as she closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. Quickly remembering that she had her cell phone with her in her bag, she clutched her bag close to her as Brian started the car. Over the sound of the engine starting, Delinda quickly turned her phone on and pushed a button which automatically dialed her father's number.

As Ed and Sam walked back into the house, Ed felt a vibration against his leg. Reaching down into his pocket, he grabbed his cell phone and saw the caller ID. Turning the phone on, he held it to his ear, "Hey, honey."

"That better be Nessa or Delinda," Sam said quietly with a grin, causing Ed to roll his eyes. He stopped quickly when he heard his daughter's voice, sounding like she was arguing with somebody.

"Why are you doing this? Don't you know that it's a big mistake?" She asked.

"Shut up!" The guy screamed at her.

"Delinda!" Ed asked, his voice filled with panic as he grabbed his keys. "I gotta get to the hotel, somebody's got her," Ed explained to Sam.

"What! Who?" Sam asked.

"I can't believe how stupid you are!" Delinda said, "My father will nail your ass, you have to know that."

"Not if I nail his first," Brian said. "Besides, I help Doug and Katy out, than I'm set for life."

"You are helping child molesters," Delinda pointed out, causing Brian to slap her again.

Ed heard his daughter's cries and felt his blood begin to boil as he got in his car, listening, knowing that if he yelled into the phone there was a chance that whoever had her could hear his voice. Taking the back way to the Montecito, Ed broke every speeding law in Clark County and made it to the hotel in record time. Racing through the lobby, he wasted no time in getting into the surveillance area. "Mike!" He said, the phone still to his ear.

Mike looked at him in concern, "Ed? What's going on?"

"Give me that," Ed said as he reached for the speaker on the desk and quickly plugged it in. "I need to run a trace on this."

Mike looked at his boss in worry and then soon heard Delinda's voice again, "I'll call Luis," he said, grabbing a phone.

"No!" Ed said quickly, grabbing the phone out, "No police," he said.

"Ed, this is Delinda, you don't want the police involved? Not even Luis?"

"No," he said as he sighed. "No cops. Have you got the trace on this yet?"

Before Mike could answer, they heard Delinda and Brian talking again.

"Look, Brian," Delinda said as she gave him a hopeful smile, "Please, I promise you, I won't say a word about this to my father, I swear, and if you take me back now, nobody has to know that I was going to go to Bakersfield."

"Bakersfield!" Ed said as he jumped up, grabbing his car keys. "My guess is that they are still on 15, they couldn't possibly have gotten to 5 yet. Come on," he said as he bolted out of his office and ran down to the lobby and out of the hotel, towards his Hummer.

"I'll call Danny and see if he can't get his friend to some cameras down." Mike said, following his boss out.

"No, Nevada can't shut down cameras in California," Ed pointed out, getting into his car and starting it. He took a moment to take a deep breath and say a quick prayer for the safety of his daughter.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter 17

"Get Luis on the phone."

Mike just looked at Ed in surprise. Knowing how hard it was for the former CIA agent to admit he needed help, Mike reached for cell phone that was in the console and called the detective. "Yeah, Luis, it's Mike Cannon, just a sec, I've got Ed who wants to talk to you."

The man handed the phone to his boss, who grabbed it and clamped it to his ear, "Luis, somebody's snatched Delinda."

Luis Perez cursed softly under his breath. Fluent in Spanish, Ed understood immediately, "My sentiments exactly."

"What do you need me to do, Ed? You got any idea who it is?" Perez asked as he stood up, getting ready to go.

"No clue," Ed responded, traces of aggravation, worry and fear in his voice. "Some guy named Brian, that's all I know. They are heading to Bakersfield, I know that."

Luis nodded as he grabbed his coat, "Okay, I'll get a chopper up over 15 and one over 5 too, just in case this guy is a speed demon on the road."

Deline nodded in gratitude, "Thanks, man."

"Don't kill this guy if you catch up to him before we do, Ed," Perez warned, "The last thing anybody needs right now is you on trial for murder."

"Luis," Ed said with a heavy sigh, "if he's touched my daughter, that's exactly what you'll have," he promised before hanging up.

Delinda's blue eyes darted at the dash of the car, reading the bright green numbers of the clock. Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. She was beyond tired, but she refused to sleep out of fear that he would do something to her or take her to a remote place. Just as she concealed a yawn, the champagne colored Escalade came to a stop.

"What are you doing?" Delinda asked.

"Quiet," the driver ordered as he reached across her into the glove compartment. Producing a navy blue scarf, he grabbed his passenger by her hair and yanked her towards him, causing her to cry out in pain. Brian folded the scarf lengthwise a few times and then tied it around Delinda's head, covering her eyes. Knotting it tightly behind her head, Delinda thought she was going to pass out. "I'm, I'm scared of the dark," she said, hoping for reprieve.

"Ask me how much I care," Brian sneered before starting up the car. After driving for another forty minutes, Delinda felt the car make a few corners and then come to a stop. "Stay here," he told her and got out, taking the keys with him. Delinda sighed as she reached back, trying to unknot the blindfold to no avail. Figuring it was a long shot, the Deline daughter blindly reached for the door handle. Once she had it in her grasp, she pulled it and to her shock, the door opened. Quickly reaching for her purse, Delinda tried to get out of the car, misjudging the height and falling out. Struggling, she called out to anybody who may be in ear shot, but as soon as she got a sound out of her throat, she felt a hand tangle in her hair, yanking her tresses hard and soon found herself being dragged back to the car. "You little bitch," he said softly as he shoved her towards the automobile, "Get in!"

Shaking in fear, Delinda got in the car, unaware that she was at a crowded gas station on the Cal-Neva border. One of the women there who witnessed Delinda being forced into the car, quickly grabbed a pen and paper and took down a description of the car and plates.

Ed reached for his ringing cell phone, "Yeah?"

"Ed, it's Luis. We think we know who she's with."

The man let out a deep sigh, "Who, Luis?"

"Brian Smart. He's Katherine Cline's brother. A real low-life, Ed, scum of the earth kind of guy."

"Smart, huh?" Ed asked as he continued to drive down the long stretch of highway, "Well, apparently he's not as smart as he likes to think he is, huh."

"We are going to get him, Ed," Luis promised, "We have a witness who has spotted Delinda with him, unwillingly. She gave us a description of the guy, the car, and the plates. It's only a matter of time before we spot him and move in on him, you have my word."

"What can I do, Luis?"

The officer sighed softly, "Keep your phone with you, Ed. I mean it, you can't do anything right now. Just let us do our jobs."

The former CIA agent sighed in frustration, running a hand through his thinning hair, careful to keep one hand on the steering wheel of his Hummer, "That's crap, Luis, and you know it. What the hell makes you think that I'm going to just drive around, keeping my cell phone in m console waiting for you guys to call me? This is my daughter, Luis! The last thing I have on this planet that connects me to Jillian, and you don't want me to do anything?"

The other man sighed deeply, knowing that this was a dead-end conversation, that Deline had already made his mind up and he won't go back. "Fine," he relented, "come out to the station and we'll try and find her together, but Ed, remember, you are a civilian and I'm only doing this because of our friendship."

Ed nodded as he sighed deeply. He wanted to keep going down the road he was on, he was sure that he'd run into Brian's car sooner or later, but he knew that he couldn't take that chance, not with Mike in the car. The very last thing that Ed wanted was to do something that would scare Mike, even though he was pretty sure that Mike realized that Ed was capable of killing a man if he felt the need. Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't know what he was up against. Reluctantly turning his car around, Ed started back to Vegas, "I'm on my way," he said, "and thanks, Luis."

She didn't say a word after he got her back in the car, she was too afraid, however, she was painfully aware of his hand on her thigh, his fingers digging into the flesh. "You would have thought that that father of yours had would have taught you some common sense," he'd repeat over and over until Delinda thought she would scream if she heard his voice again.

Several hours after her daring attempt at escape, Delinda felt the car slow down, "Please," she said softly, her throat dry, "I need something to drink."

Brian sighed and turned to look at her, taking in the sight of the woman who was blindfolded, her hands now resting in her lap, silver handcuffs encircling them painfully. Shaking his head, he reached into the back seat and pulled out a bottle of water that was several days old. "Here," he said, taking off the cap and pushing it to her lips, "Swallow." He squirted the water into Delinda's mouth. It tasted warm and stale to her and she was certain that it wasn't anything fresh, but it was liquid and that was all that mattered to her. Drinking as much of the water as she could, she felt the liquid drizzle down her chin and neck and she had to admit that that small burst of coolness felt good. "What time is it?" she asked quietly.

The man sighed once more and looked at the clock, "Almost five am."

Delinda nodded quietly, knowing that her father was on her trail and soon would come and get her. "Brian," she said softly, hoping to try again, "please, wherever we are, just drop me off. Please."

As he was about to open his mouth, he heard the sounds of a helicopter flying overhead, "Shit!" he cursed softly as he shook his head.

"Brian Smart, pull the car over," a loud voice boomed down from above. Soon, the sounds of loud sirens were heard and it was then that Brian realized that he was completely surrounded. Finding no other option but stopping, Brian eased his foot on the brake. Once the car was completely stopped, the doors were ripped open from both sides and he was dragged out by the arm while Delinda was carefully lead out of the car, her handcuffs being removed as another officer cut the blindfold off.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Delinda sat in the back of the squad car, her hands gripping a bottle of water. She sighed deeply and glanced up as an officer walked over to her, "Miss Deline, your father is on his way, he should be here shortly."

The woman nodded as she spoke softly, "Thank you."

Her eyes drifted down to the bottle and, for some odd reason, zoned in on a drip as it slowly made it's way down the bottle, seeping through the paper label. She watched intently as the minutes passed. Shaken out of her reverie by the sounds of a helicopter landing, Delinda dropped the bottle and got out of the car and stood back as she watched it reach the ground.

With the propeller still turning, Delinda watched as her father swung the door open and jumped out, running toward her. Unable to control the tears any longer, Delinda wept as she ran to her father and hugged him tightly, crying into his shoulder

Eighteen Months Later

Delinda sat in the courtroom next to her father as Sam sat ahead of them at the defendant's table. Everybody was stunned when Katherine and Douglas Cline had filed charges against Sam for kidnapping. After a long and grueling trial they were finally in the final stages.

The trial got ugly quickly. Everything about Sam's personal life had been dragged out in all it's ugly glory, aspects that she had wanted to forget but found impossible. Nightly she'd find herself crying, begging Ed to leave her and get on with his life, but to her amazement, he'd just shake his head and reaffirm that he was in it for the long haul.

Attorneys battled left and right, accusations were slung like mud everywhere. Finally, after an eleven month trial and a two month deliberation, the jury was finally ready to deliver their verdict. Lem Hainen reached for his client's hand as they watched the jury file back in and Sam could swear that she heard Ed draw in a breath from behind her.

"All rise," the bailiff said authoritatively.

The defendant and plaintiff rose to their feet, as well as their council. The judge looked at the jury foreman. "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"Yes, Your Honor," the foreman replied, handing the bailiff a slip of paper. The bailiff crossed the room and handed the paper to the judge who glanced at it and handed it back with a nod. Once the bailiff handed the paper back to the foreman, the judge spoke, "Please deliver your verdict, Mr. Foreman."

Sam took a deep breath as she prepared herself. "Your Honor, the State of Nevada finds the defendant, Samantha Jane Marquez, innocent of kidnapping. In the counter suit filed Miss Marquez, we find the plaintiff number one, Douglas Cline, guilty of the following charges: four counts of lewd acts involving minors under the age of twelve, two counts of attempting a lewd act upon a minor under the age of twelve, two counts of extortion and one count of accessory to the kidnapping and physical assault of an unnamed woman."

Delinda closed her eyes and sighed deeply and then opened them when she felt her father's hand close around her hand. Giving him a quiet smile, the two listened to the remainder of what the foreman had to say.

"In the counter suit filed by Miss Marquez, we find the plaintiff number two, Katherine Smart Douglas, guilty of four counts of accessory to committing lewd acts on minors under the age of twelve."

Sam closed her eyes and nearly collapsed into the chair, but was quickly held up by her attorney. Lem gripped her hand, "It's almost over," he whispered in her ear, getting a nod from the woman in response.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," the judge began, "this was a delicate case, as I'm sure everybody who has been involved will agree. Delicate cases require unusual circumstances, and this was no different. In addition to determining the guilt or innocence of Miss Marquez and Mr. and Mrs. Cline, you were also asked to determine who gets custody of the child, Jasmine Cline. Have you reached a verdict?"

"Yes, Your Honor," the foreman answered, "We the jury feel that it would be in the best interest of the child to remain with Miss Marquez and we ask that the court awards her custody of the child."

"Granted," the judge said and then looked at Sam, "I'm granting you full legal custody of the child, Miss Marquez, however, you will need to come back in three months for everything to be made official, will you be here?"

Sam nodded as a tear fell, "Yes, Your Honor, thank you."

The judge nodded, "In the meantime, I order that Douglas Cline be sent to Ely State Prison, in Ely, Nevada until your sentencing hearing. I order Katherine Cline to be sent to the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas, Nevada, during which contact between her and Miss Marquez and the minor Jasmine Cline are to be prohibited, as well as contact between Douglas Cline and Miss Marquez and her daughter as well. Court dismissed." He slammed down the gavel and Sam erupted in laughter and hugged her lawyer.

"Lem, thank you so much, I don't think I can ever repay you for all you did."

Lem shook his head and smiled, "Congratulations, Sam, you deserve this."

Ed walked around to where Sam was and hugged her tightly, "Congratulations, honey."

"I'm a mom now," she said with a laugh, hugging him back. "Ed," she said, "thank you so much for the testimonies you gave, I really appreciate it."

Ed shook his head as he smiled, "Believe me, Sam, if I didn't think that this wasn't the right thing, I wouldn't have done it."

Sam nodded and then looked at Delinda and walked over and hugged her tightly. "I know that it wasn't easy to relive what you did, and I really appreciate everything that you did."

Delinda shrugged as she smiled, hugging her friend back, "These guys were creeps, Sam, I'm grateful that you were able to get Jasmine away from all that." She pulled back and looked at her, smiling, "And I'm also grateful that you were able to make my dad happy, that means a lot to me."

Sam smiled as the two glanced over at Ed who was talking to Lem. "He's a wonderful person, I just love him so much."

Delinda grinned as she poked her in the ribs, "Everybody with eyes can see that."

The brunette laughed and then looked at her friend, "Would I be nuts to go and pick Jasmine up from school now? I'm in the mood to celebrate."

Her friend laughed, "Well, deep down I knew that this was going to go in your favor, so I asked Gunther to come in this afternoon and after a lot of arm pulling, he agreed to make Jasmine's absolute favorite meal ever."

Sam's jaw dropped as her eyes grew wide, "You got him to make peanut butter and jelly with hot fudge sundaes?"

Delinda grinned, "Yep."

"Wow," Sam said, impressed, "Sounds good to me."

"What sounds good?" Ed asked as he walked up and joined them.

"PBJ and sundaes at Mystique," Sam responded.

Ed blinked, "Gunther is going to lower himself to making that?"

His daughter grinned, "Yep, in fact," she said as she kissed his cheek, "I'm going to head over there now and help him get things set up. So I'll see you two later." She walked out of the courtroom and Ed shook his head.

Sam laughed, "God, I hope he made regular sandwiches and didn't try and put a twist on them like he did with cheeseburgers."

Ed shuddered as he took her hand, "God, don't even remind me about that."

Laughing, the two left the courtroom, both of them knowing that while the future was still untold, happiness was definitely a factor.


End file.
